STRENGTH
━━ act two, chapter three.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
"COME AND FIND ME AT MY FOUNTAIN, NABI."
Nabi knew those words. They were the exact words written on the slip of card she'd received.
Her dream began in the darkness, until it formed a setting of a beautiful garden — rows upon rows of flowers of all kinds: roses, hydrangeas, peonies, and other flowers than Nabi didn't know the names of.
It was beautiful, really... somehow, it gave Nabi feelings of nostalgia. Memories from the back of her mind resurfaced — making flower crowns and daisy chains with Silena in the woods when they were younger, when Silena didn't have her head counsellor duties and life was less chaotic; pulling pranks involved with flowers that she'd been roped into by the Stoll brothers; Clarisse collecting pink tulips for her as an apology, after they'd had their first ever proper fight back when they were just kids.
It made her think of how much she missed being a child, for some reason.
Nabi continued walking forwards, letting her fingers brush against a couple of the different flowers with soft petals, until she entered the centre of the garden. In the middle of the garden was a fountain — grand and beautiful, spouting water as clear and pristine as the sky. She found herself drawn to it.
As she got closer to it, she saw... a girl? No older than herself; a youthful appearance and a pale complexion, sitting on the edge of the fountain. She wore a flower crown, and her dark hair was swirled into a bun. The girl was wearing a graceful white minidress, and she looked up at Nabi with blue eyes, similar to the fountain's crystal water. But none of that was what truly amazed Nabi, no...
It was her wings — large and glistening, much like Nabi's, except the girl's were white and pure. All gods had that otherworldly look to them, but these wings were what told Nabi she was a goddess.
"My, Nabi," The goddess pouted childishly, yet her words didn't fit with the voice of someone so young, "I hate how fast you're growing."
Nabi didn't really know how to respond to that. All she could do was blink, and mustered, "...Thank you, miss? I— I like your wings."
They fluttered, as if to show off, blowing soft breezes in Nabi's direction. The girl laughed, "Why thank you, my fair... hm, I had already written it on the card, so I refuse to say it. I hate the feeling of seeming..."
Nabi thought she was going to say something super wise, or a really fancy word, with the way her nose scrunched up in disgust. But instead, all she said was, "...old. You shouldn't call me 'miss,' either. Anyways, wings aren't just a symbol of your father. A few other gods have them too, such as Iris."
"Excuse me," Nabi said politely, not wanting to anger a god, "but can I ask who you are?"
The goddess merely waved a hand dismissively, and hummed, "You will meet me in person soon, that I can guarantee. I've been meaning to speak to you for a while now, anyways; you have went far too long without knowing of your fate... of your curse."
There it was again.
The 'curse' talk that Nabi's father had brought up the last time they'd spoken. Nabi tried to hide her bitterness. When the goddess saw her expression, she sighed and gave her a look of pity, "You won't like what I have to tell you. You won't like any of it, and for that, I am sorry. Tell me, Nabi, how much do you know about your mother?"
Nabi shook her head. "Not much. She died when I was five years old, I think. But my aunt always said I looked a lot like her... she never really liked that."
"Hm," The goddess mumbled, "she used to hate your mother. Their father's heart always belonged to me, even after he remarried into your aunt's family. He always did prefer younger women..."
Her words must've been funny, because the goddess chuckled to herself.
"Please," Nabi huffed, frustrated, "can't you just tell me who you are?"
The goddess tapped a finger to her chin, contemplating, until she eventually sighed and said, "I suppose."
"Really?" Nabi didn't think she'd actually do it.
"Yes, it's the least you deserve, after all," The goddess said, and she stood up to introduce herself, "I am..."
Nabi's dream started to change.
"You've got to be kidding me." Nabi let out a curse under her breath, scowling as the sight around her began to alter into something more... desolate and barren.
Nabi was standing in a desert, completely alone. In front of her was a fire — the only noise was the crackling of the flames, and the sandy dune beneath her feet as she turned around.
"Aren't you angry, Nabi?"
A voice, a wicked, nasty voice of a man's reverberated across the mounds of the desert. It was completely different than the goddess' that Nabi was previously speaking to. He laughed, menacingly, "The gods have cursed you, yet they expect you to work for them? We shall usurp the Olympians, together."
A chill ran up her spine. She knew who this was. "Kronos."
"Yes," Nabi could practically hear his grin forming, "I am the Titan Lord. You, Nabi Cho-hee, shall be my lieutenant. You have potential. You could have enough power to defeat a hundred men."
"I won't join you."
"But that is where you're wrong," Kronos said, his voice low, "because the gods have wronged you. If you join me, join my side, you shall be made immortal... a god in your own right."
"No," Nabi muttered, searching for where he could possibly be on the horizons of the dessert, "that's— I would never do that."
Kronos chuckled darkly, "Trust me when I say, I know better than anybody when it comes to betraying one's father... when Thanatos falls by his own daughter's hand, who better to take his place? A new angel of death, one that works not for Hades, nor any of the gods... but for me. The Titans shall prevail. The Golden Age shall rise once more."
Nabi didn't have enough time to respond to his delusions as the sand beneath her started to form a sinkhole. Everything started getting blurry as the desert around her crumbled. A scream threatened to jump out of her throat. She was falling.
"Join my side," Kronos said, "or you will live the tragedy that the fates have predicted; the fallen angel that the gods have doomed from the beginning."
She was falling, and it all seemed a little too real.
【 🦋 】
CHARIOT RACES WEREN'T NABI'S FORTE, but cheering her friends on was. Currently, she was sitting in the rows of stone steps for the spectators. The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. Next to Nabi was Silena whilst she was telling her about the dream she had.
The Aphrodite and Demeter cabin weren't participating, since somehow, whilst Tantalus was inspecting their chariots yesterday, he'd accidentally set them on fire. Whoever hired him to be a camp activities director must've been an idiot... sorry, Mr. D. He wasn't even at the event, anyways. Everyone knew he didn't wake up until the afternoon.
"Can you believe it?" Nabi said, "He wants me on his side... he thinks I'd betray you guys, betray the gods. I'd never do that."
"Yeah." Silena hummed, muttering quietly, "I know you. And I know you'd never listen to him."
"Never," The angel girl promised, "besides, you'd probably kill me if I did."
Silena only gave her a small smile. It didn't seem like a real one. Nabi hadn't pried about what had been wrong with her recently, but she was tempted to. She followed Silena's gaze to find the Aphrodite girl staring at... Beckendorf. Silena had such a sad look on her face.
Oh. Maybe that's why Silena was being different.
"Do you like Beckendorf?" Nabi asked, "Is that why you've been all sad, lately?"
Silena's head whipped around, and she said, "I've not been sad."
"Yes, you have," Nabi huffed, folding her arms, "but if it's because of Beckendorf, then I don't see why. Silena, you're super sweet, and super funny, and I'm one-hundred percent sure he's liked you for years."
"...I know." Silena bit her lip, then she looked down at the ground and sighed, "But if he really knew who I was..."
"He'd fall for you, instantly." Nabi smiled.
Silena didn't seem reassured. If anything, she seemed even more pained. "You don't— you don't get it. I'm not who he thinks I am. I'm—"
"A great person," Nabi said, "and I don't have to be your best friend to know that. Everyone does."
Silena just silently nodded, and turned away to watch everyone get ready to race. Nabi hadn't expected Silena to be self-conscious, since she'd never been like that with any boy before.
"Hey," Clarisse was making her way over with a smirk on her face. "ready to watch me win?"
Nabi laughed. "Don't get too cocky. Connor and Travis are gonna win it for the Hermes campers, just watch."
"How about we bet on it?"
Nabi shrugged. "If the Hermes cabin win, I get to steal all your desserts for the next three dinners."
"When I win..." Clarisse grinned, cheekily, "I'll think about it. All I know is that you're gonna give me a reward."
"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. "You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track; twice around to win; two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected... but try not to kill anybody!"
Tantalus smiled at them like they were all naughty children. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"
Nabi thought that probably wasn't the most sufficient punishment. But then again, losing dessert privileges was one of the worst things to ever exist.
Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track, helping one of his sisters, Nyssa, onto the chariot. They had a sweet ride made of bronze and iron, and the horses were magical automatons like the Colchis bulls — Nabi had no doubt that their chariot had all kinds of mechanical traps.
The Ares chariot was blood red, and pulled by two grisly horse skeletons. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, and a bunch of other nasty toys. Nabi gave her a pointed look, as if to say, 'Don't go overboard,' but she just grinned and winked.
Nabi felt her cheeks grow warm, and she struggled to look away. Clarisse was too pretty for her own good. If she kept looking at her like that... Nabi's face grew even hotter.
Apollo's chariot was graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos. Their fighter was armed with a bow, though he had promised not to shoot regular pointed arrows at the opposing drivers.
Hermes' chariot was green and kind of old-looking, as if it hadn't been out of the garage in years. It didn't look like anything special, but it was manned by the Stoll brothers, so that spoke for itself.
Percy was leading the Poseidon chariot, a deep blue with sea-green waves painted on the sides. It didn't seem like it had any fancy tricks, but Tyson's strength as a cyclops was already an obstacle in itself.
Lastly, there was the Athena chariot. It had a few olive branches painted on the sides of it, while the rest of it was a stormy grey. Annabeth seemed to be telling one of her brothers, Weston, about the game plan.
As the chariots lined up, metallic pigeons gathered in the woods. Nabi hadn't noticed them until now. They were screeching so loudly the other campers in the stands were starting to take notice, glancing nervously at the trees, which shivered under the weight of the birds. Tantalus didn't look concerned, but he did have to speak up to be heard over the noise.
"Charioteers!" He shouted, "Attend your mark!"
He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life. Hooves thundered against the dirt. The crowd cheered.
Almost immediately, there was a loud crack! The Apollo cabin flipped over, due to the Hermes cabin ramming into it from the side. The riders got thrown free, but their panicked horse dragged the chariot away from the track. Connor and Travis laughed at their victory, but not for long. The Apollo horses crashed into the Hermes chariot, and they flipped too, leaving a pile of broken wood and another pair of panicked horses.
The others left them in the dust. Athena was in the lead, with the Poseidon and Ares cabin following close behind. But then, the Hephaestus chariot pulled up next to the Poseidon one, engaging in a quick skirmish. Poseidon pulled ahead, sending the other chariot back a few paces. The chariots kept racing, but the birds got louder and louder. Nabi looked up and saw the flock of pigeons combining into a dark cloud of birds.
The birds dove down to attack.
Nabi was too busy fending off the pigeons to care about the chariot race anymore. She summoned her sword, slicing as many of them as she could, but there were too many of them and they were too fast.
Some of the others were trying to fight back too, brandishing their weapons and attempting to land a few hits. The Athena campers were calling for shields, and the archers from Apollo's cabin brought out their bows and arrows. Though, it wasn't safe to shoot with how many campers that were all too close to the targets.
"What are these things?!" Nabi yelled.
Silena unsheathed a dagger from her waist, but wasn't able to slice any of the metallic pigeons down as she answered, "Stymphalian birds!"
Nabi could barely see under all the bronze feathery attacks that the chariots were on fire. Wounded campers ran in every direction, with birds shredding their clothes and pulling out their hair, while Tantalus chased breakfast pastries around the stands, every once in a while yelling, "Everything's under control! Not to worry!"
Clarisse ran over to the stands, probably having finished the race, and hacked away at the Stymphalian birds with a spear. She pulled Silena out of the way right as one was about to poke her eye, and asked, "You guys alright? What the hell's happening?!"
Silena grumbled, "Not really."
"Does it look like we're alright?" Nabi huffed, dodging a bird's pointy beak.
Suddenly a horrible noise flew through the air. It was Percy holding up Chiron's portable stereo, playing 'All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin.' Nabi had never been more grateful to hear the words, "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie... that's amore!" in her life.
The pigeons went nuts. They stopped attacking the campers and started lying in circles, then began bashing into each other.
"Now!" Nabi heard Annabeth shout, "Archers!"
Most of the archers could nock several arrows at once, and the cloud of birds was so thick, each arrow skewered several pigeons. Within minutes, the ground was covered in a carpet of dead birds. The wreckage wasn't pretty. Most of the chariots were completely destroyed. Everyone was wounded, with torn clothes and frizzy hair.
"Bravo!" Tantalus exclaimed, "We have our first winner!"
Nabi thought he'd congratulate Annabeth or Percy for their quick thinking, but instead, he walked over to Clarisse. The daughter of Ares looked stunned as Tantalus handed her the golden laurels.
"And now," Tantalus turned to Percy and Annabeth with a creepy smile, "to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race."
【 🦋 】
THAT NIGHT, AS THE REGULAR CAMPFIRE TOOK PLACE, EVERYBODY'S MOOD WAS LOW. The Apollo cabin tried to get everybody's spirits up with their songs, playing their lyres and guitars, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack.
The bonfire was enchanted — on a good night, it could rise incredibly high with bright purple flames, and it'd be so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames. However, right now, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint.
Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. Then, he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House. When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely! Now then, some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."
"Sir..." Someone from the crowd of campers spoke up. It was Percy.
Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"
After the chariot race, he'd been assigned to kitchen patrol with the cleaning harpies as punishment, alongside Annabeth and Tyson. Nabi gave him a sympathetic look — last time she'd been there, it was because she'd been partially blamed for one of the Stoll brothers' antics. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle, and Nabi could say from experience that the job was dangerous, and totally not fun.
Some of the Ares campers snickered at Tantalus' jab at Percy. But he said something that caught everyone's attention: "We have an idea to save the camp."
There was dead silence. Then, Tantalus grumbled blandly, "Indeed. Well, if it has anything to do with the chariots—"
"The Golden Fleece." Percy stated, "We know where it is."
The flames burned a bright hue of orange. Before Tantalus could stop him, Percy blurted out a weird dream he'd had about his satyr friend, Grover, and an island in the middle of the Sea of Monster where Polyphemus inhabited; he was the worst of the cyclopes, the big bad.
Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do — a magical fleece of gold that could cure sickness, strengthen nature, heal probably anything. It sounded more convincing coming from her.
"The Fleece can save the camp," She concluded, "I'm certain of it."
"Nonsense," Tantalus snorted, rolling his eyes, "we don't need saving."
Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable. He added on quickly, "Besides, the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."
"Yes, I would," Percy said, "thirty, thirty-one, seventy five, twelve."
"...Ooo-kay," Tantalus said, "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."
"They're sailing coordinates," Percy hastily told them, "langitude and longitude. I... uh, learned about it in social studies."
"Thirty degrees, thirty-one minutes north, seventy-five degrees, twelve minutes west." Annabeth nodded, "He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"
Tantalus huffed, "Now, wait just a minute—"
But the campers took up a chant, getting louder and louder as they yelled the words, "We need a quest! We need a quest!"
The flames rose higher.
"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.
"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"
"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"
"YES!" The campers yelled.
"Very well," Tantalus agreed, and announced, "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp... die trying. I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle! They shall choose two companions for the journey, and I think the choice of champion is obvious."
He glared at Annabeth and Percy, as if he wanted to flay them alive. Then he cleared his throat and continued, "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest... Clarisse!"
The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin and a few of Clarisse's friends, Nabi included, started cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"
Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"
"Wait!" Percy shouted, "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."
"Sit down!" Yelled one of the Ares campers, "You had your chance last summer!"
"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" Another one of them said.
Clarisse glared at Percy, but repeated, "I accept the quest! I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"
Some people started cheering louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Clarisse deserved a quest, after being at camp for so long. It'd be her first real one.
Everybody else started taking sides — shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. Nabi thought it was going to turn into a full-fledged s'more war. She even had to step in between an infuriated Demeter boy who was yelling in Silena's face.
"Clarisse shouldn't go!" The Demeter boy yelled.
Nabi scoffed. "She's more worthy than you. More worthy than a lot of people."
Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats! Sit down... and I will tell you a ghost story."
The evil aura that radiated around him made all the campers uneasy, but they all moved reluctantly sat back down into their seats. Nabi hated everything about him.
"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved by the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest, and Nabi knew he was talking about himself, "This king was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe — just one little doggie bag, mind you — the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children. Just. Like. You."
He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, "Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children? Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"
No one dared answer. Nabi's stomach felt sick at the thought of it all. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting wickedly on Tantalus' crooked face.
"Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked, "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. So... are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"
Silence. Complete and utter silence. Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."
She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus' pet. Nabi tried to put her mind at ease with a smile. Clarisse bowed awkwardly, then hurried off toward the Big House.
"What about you, Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?"
Percy stayed quiet, but Nabi could tell he was itching to grab Tantalus by the throat and start yelling at him.
"Good," Tantalus said, "and let me remind everyone — no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."
With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, AND THE UNSETTLED CAMPERS TRAILED OFF TOWARDS THEIR CABINS IN THE DARK.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗔'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦!
જ⁀➴ oh my gods ... mr big bad kronos finally appearing !! i wonder what he has in store for nabi 🤭 tehe ,, also the quest part is finally beginning guys and i'm so excited to write it all 🙈 nabi might have to go thru it in this act ( we shall have to wait and see ) so sorry in advance guys !! and sorry if this chapter was a lil long for u guys, i wanted the pre-quest bits over and done with ,,
any guesses as to who her mother's godly parent could be ? i've seen a few of them, but hopefully the reveal will shock u all but at the same time have you guys being all 'ohhhhh!!' 😱 i will say that no one's gotten close yet so ... that's litchh all rn so thank u sm for reading and ur lovely comments, they're always so fun to respond to and stuff !! see u in the next chapter cuties !! <3