THE AFTERMATH
grief
/ɡriːf/
noun
1. intense sorrow, especially caused by someone's death.
or:
Grief; the anguish experienced after significant loss, usually the death of a beloved person. Grief includes physiological distress, separation anxiety, confusion, yearning, obsessive dwelling on the past, and apprehension about the future.
Ariana was overcome with grief.
"If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him... tell him I'm sorry."
"You'll do great things Ariana, you really are your mothers daughter."
"I hate you!"
She had lost three people in two different ways. Two siblings she had lost. Two of her last family members.
Bianca Di Angelo and Zoë Nightshade, two girls she went on a quest with. Both of them died within her presence. She blamed herself for both of their deaths.
Nico Di Angelo, a young boy whom she recently discovered was her brother. He blamed her for her sisters death, he ran away hating her.
Ariana sat alone in the Hermes Cabin, her once pale and porcelain skin now had a dull grey tint to it, the result of sleep-deprivation due to her grief.
Her raven hair had lost it's lustre and hung limply by the side of her face and her eyes were dull and lifeless.
She looked frail and thin, and it looked as if though she hadn't eaten in weeks. Ariana had lost much of her beauty and grace, and instead looked like a sad ghost of the stunning girl she once was.
It had been weeks since the quest. It was now February and here nobody had managed to help her out of her state.
Ariana heard a mumbled conversation outside the cabin door as Silena stepped inside.
Silena's eyes widened as she saw the state that her friend was in, and she approached her calmly and with pity in her eyes.
Ariana just sat there, blankly staring at Silena with eyes that had no life in them. For a while she was silent and not responding to Silena's questions of concern.
After a while, Ariana spoke in a small voice, her eyes still staring at Silena as if asking for help.
"I cant do this Silena." She spoke.
It was the first words she had said since she entered the state.
Silenas eyes watered. "It's going to be okay, Ari."
Ariana finally broke down.
Her eyes welled with tears as the words tumbled out, and she hugged Silena tightly while tears started to fall.
"I can't do this Silena.. they are gone because of me.."
Ariana struggled to suppress her tears but was unable to, and her words became incomprehensible as she started to truly sob and grieve for her lost loved ones.
Silena continued to hug the girl and they stayed like that for hours as she spoke affirmations into her ear.
Eventually the tears stopped and Ariana fell asleep.
The next stage of grief she experienced was anger.
Arianna's anger surged through her veins as she felt her sword hit the mannequin. She was taking out all of her frustration and grief in this sword-fighting exercise.
Both Stoll brothers looked terrified at the girl and they made no attempt to stop her.
"Hey! Ari! You might wanna stop, take a break maybe?" Beckendorf suggested.
Ariana let out a scream of rage as she continued to unleash her anger, the sound of her grunting and the sound of the blades clashing drowning out everything else.
Her heart was beating furiously as she imagined the mannequin as the very source of her anger and her sadness.
She fought furiously, using all of her strength and fighting ability to strike and slash at her opponent without any regard for her own wellbeing.
Ariana was angry. Angry at the gods but more importantly she was angry at herself. Angry at herself for letting Bianca go and not her and angry for breaking her promise to Nico.
Gods, she was even angry for Annabeth being taken in the first place.
Ariana was sure of one thing however: she had no respect for any of the gods anymore.
She hated them.
Ariana hated her father, hated Nico and then she hated herself for hating her only family.
"Ariana." She swung her sword to the side and was surprised when somebody caught it.
Ariana swung her body around ready to scream at the person. "Do you mind-"
It was Clarisse, Chiron stood besides her. Ariana tried calming down although her breathing was still rigid.
"Ariana." Chiron spoke calmly. "Let's go speak at the Big House, yeah?"
Ariana sighed, she knew she had no choice. She threw her sword back onto the bleachers. Since she returned to Camp HalfBlood she no longer wore her rings as they reminded her too much of her father.
They were a gift from him and she didn't like it.
Chiron lead her to the living room area of the Big House, he gave her a Fanta and situated her onto one of the couches.
"Ariana."
"Chiron." She said blankly.
"Silena and some of the other campers are worried about you."
"Well Im fine."
"Are you?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes."
He remained calm. "When was the last time you spoke to Annabeth or Percy?"
Ariana remained silent. The truth was she hadn't spoken to either of them since they left after the winter solstice.
"Don't push you friends away Ariana."
Then Dionysus walked into the room, he looked like he had just woken up from his third nap of the day.
Ariana stood up. "Can I go?"
She did not fancy being anywhere near a god, nonetheless an Olympian. Chiron said nothing and so she began leaving.
"It is not wise to turn your back against the gods, young one." Mr. D spoke.
She turned to face him. "And it wasn't wise to let demigods die for no good reason."
Then she left.