ᵐᵉⁿᵒᵈᵒʳᵃ ⁻ ᵃ ᵗʰʳᵉᵃᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒˡʸᵐᵖⁱᵃⁿ ᵍᵒᵈˢ?
˚ ✦ . . ˚ . . ✦ ˚ . ★⋆.
MENODORA WISHED THE BONFIRE had never happened.
At first, it started off rather fun. Travis and Connor seemed to have adopted Nico as their third musketeer, telling him about their best pranks and pranks in the process. Menodora couldn't help but smile at the sight. Even Nico himself looked surprised that someone found interest in both him and his game.
"We should prank someone based on what card we pull," Connor suggested.
"Yeah! Imaging we pull Dad, that means we prank three campers from rank three and above," Travis smiled maniacally, reading and translating the Hermes card into the Stoll language of pranks.
On the other hand, Aspen was telling Menodora about all the main gossip at camp; something about Drew Tanaka dumping yet another Ares kid for the sake of dumping him. Some Demeter kid that supposedly trapped the Athena cabin with poison ivy because one of them stepped on a flower. And some other absurd things Menodora couldn't help but forget.
"I'm very invested in people's life, including yours," Aspen admitted.
"Mine?" Menodora asked.
"Yeah, it looks promising," Aspen nodded, randomly kicking Ethan's back. "With Percy and all."
"Hey!" Ethan exclaimed.
"Percy isn't my life," Menodora protested. "We're barely friends."
"From friends to hopeless romantics," Aspen sighed, smiling sweetly.
Menodora rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Aspen."
"What're you guys talking about that requires me being abused once again?" Ethan asked, turning toward the two girls.
"Menodora's love life," Aspen said with a wide smile.
"Ignore her," Menodora said to Ethan.
Ethan shook his head before muttering 'girls' under his breath. Ethan turned his back to them again.
"Isn't he so annoying?" Aspen asked, staring at Ethan's back. Menodora agreed.
Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground, the sound silencing the campers.
"Campers! As you know, earlier this morning Percy, Grover and Thalia came back with two new campers and the Hunters." Chiron nodded politely at them. Most of them so lovingly scowled at him in return.
"We are gathered at this bonfire to celebrate our brave demigods and satyr—" the campers erupted in applause, some of them patting Percy and Thalia on the back. Grover wasn't there.
"—And to acknowledge the disappearance of Annabeth Chase, child of Athena." The excited chattering died down. "Annabeth was willing to sacrifice herself for her friends. So, we equally celebrate Annabeth's bravery and life tonight!"
The Athena cabin made the last cheer sound like a mouse singing. Most of them stood up and yelled out Annabeth's name, others stomped their hands against the wooden seatings, making as much noise for Annabeth as they could.
The rest of the cabins followed suit. Menodora looked over at Percy who limited himself to a small smile and a brief applause, watching the other campers cheer. He didn't believe a word Chiron said, although he probably wanted to. Menodora felt unexplainably bad for him; watching his friend being dragged down a cliff by a monster must not have been the most fun of things to witness.
"Now!" Chiron said. "Let's begin with the activities! First up, we've got cabin Five!"
Two Ares kids, a boy and a girl, walked up to the front, heavy armor and javelins weighing them down.
"Are they going to fight?" Menodora wondered as the two campers exchanged venomous looks.
"Just watch," Aspen said. "It's the most entertaining thing ever."
It was pretty entertaining. It felt like a rush of adrenaline that coursed through her body, making her sit at the edge of ger seat . The two kids fought as if their life was on the line.
Menodora could only dream to battle that forcefully, yet effectively. The boy ended with the girls javelin softly pushed onto his forehead, just enough to leave a little scar.
The campers applauded loudly, cheering the girl on. "Cassandra! Cassandra!"
Chiron gave a brief comment as the moonshine poured into the amphitheater. Menodora felt good when the moonlight collided with her, like a cool shower after a sweaty summer day.
Because that's exactly what Menodora felt like—fresh, clean, reborn.
"Oh. My. Gods," Aspen gasped.
Aspen's voice anchored Menodora back to reality. Air streamed into her lungs again as her chest rose; she hadn't been breathing.
Her entire body was covered in moonshine, making her look like a glow-in-the-dark stick they had back in the Lotus Hotel. Above her head floated a torch that emitted moonlight.
"It has been decided. Hail, Menodora Delune," Chiron's voice boomed as he bowed down, "daughter of Selene—"
A thundering sound cut Chiron off. The torch glitched into a teardrop-shaped hoop with a cross connected directly below it. Unlike the blue-ish tones of the torch, this symbol was pitch black.
An eerie silence followed as everyone watched the two signs battle for a place above Menodora's head. The symbols continuously shifted from one back to the other. It had become so hectic that all there was to see above Menodora's head was a cloud of black and blue.
When the symbols faded, still not having decided which one would dominate, everyone lowered their heads to stare at her.
Even Chiron and Mr. D gave her strange looks, like this was a definite sign that the world was going to end.
The silencing was deafening, it's weight crushing every calm cell in Menodora's body. Her heart rate sped up, threatening to break free from her tight chest.
"What was that?" Percy asked, throwing the first stone.
"A claiming," Chiron said with a frown, still trying to figure out whatever just happened. "By two gods."
"But—" some Athena kid said, "—that's impossible. That would make her a goddess."
"She is no goddess," Mr. D spat. "She is unnatural, to say the least."
Mr. D got up and looked at Chiron. "Big House. Now! Philly Jasper and Tara Grande too!"
Menodora didn't know of any Philly or Tara, but Percy and Thalia seemed to know. They hesitantly stood up, following the directors into the Big House.
Percy looked behind him, frowning at Menodora. Menodora anxiously bit her lip before lowering her head.
Nico ran up to Menodora, obviously not bothered by all the eyes fixed on them. "Are you okay?"
Menodora hummed, too perplexed to form any words.
"That was sick, though!" Nico laughed. "It was like a battle over who wanted you!"
Menodora wished Nico would've kept his mouth shut.
The first to leave the theater was the Athena cabin. "Weirdo," one said as they walked past her.
Aspen kicked his leg, making him tumble onto some other kid.
Gradually, everyone got up to leave. Although no other campers said anything, Menodora could feel their judgemental words resonate through her head.
Menodora merged into the crowd, allowing the moonlight to take her anywhere but here.
It took her back to the porch of the Big House, where she had fought with Zoë. She brushed the thought away, not wanting to think about her.
She went to the backside of the porch, where the trees would hide her from prying eyes.
She quietly walked up to a window and gently tinkered it open.
"—parents? Did she mention her parents?" Chiron asked.
"Uh... no?" Percy hesitated.
"Her father is a mortal. Apollo said so," Thalia said.
Chiron started talking under his breath, pacing around the room.
"What were those symbols?" Percy asked. "I've never seen those before."
"The first one is the symbol of Selene, goddess of the moon, a titanid," Chiron said.
"What's a tight-in-it?" Percy asked.
"Titanid. Offspring of the titans that are older than the gods," Mr. D answered. "Which isn't really my problem," he precised. "My problem is that second symbol."
"Who's symbol was that?" Thalia asked.
"Osiris, Egyptian god of the Underwold, resurrection and fertility," Chiron answered.
"Like, the Egyptian version of Hades?" Thalia asked.
"No, not entirely," Chiron answered. "Unlike the Roman and Greek gods, the Egyptian gods are their own gods. They don't have equivalents. Anubis is the god of the afterlife and mummification, and Osiris is god of the Underworld and resurrection. Hades is god of both the dead and the Underworld, but not of mummification nor of resurrection. There is a difference."
"So, what is she? A three-quarter god?" Percy asked.
"This is no time for your petty jokes, Patrick," Mr. D said. "This is the first time this has occurred, and I don't trust it. This could be extremely dangerous."
The sound of Chiron footsteps—hoovesteps—grew fainter. Something was slammed against the table.
"There's an incomplete prophecy which speaks of a mortal born from two gods. I never thought it would be literal," Chiron said. "She needs to visit the Oracle, Dionysus."
"She needs to be gone," Dionysus retorted. "We can't trust her. What if we can't keep her under control? If Kronos gets his hands on her, she can become a weapon even the gods wouldn't be able to handle."
"What do you mean?" Percy said. "You're a god. How can you possibly be scared of a demigod?"
"She is no demigod, Jackson. She's a mutant," Mr. D said sharply.
Menodora had no clue what a mutant was, but that hurt.
"At first, I thought she was just lucky. But—you should've seen it for yourself," Mr. D continued. "She's ruthless. Even without knowledge of her godly heritage, she was the strongest demigod in Ra's army!"
"What's Ra's army?"
"Ra is the Egyptian sun god," Chiron answered. "Ra's army is the Egyptian equivolant of camp Half-Blood. They served the Pharaoh, who's always a child of Ra. But the camp is no more. It's been abolished for child cruelty."
"Child cruelty," Dionysus huffed. "That is no excuse! She must be terminated, for the sake of Olympus," Mr. D said. Menodora was starting to like this man less and less.
"Terminate her? As in kill her?" Thalia asked, a hint of worry laced in her voice.
"You can't do that!" Percy said sharply. "Chiron, come on. She's just a kid like me, Thalia and all the other campers. She's not a threat."
"She is programmed to kill whoever betrays her leader. I've seen it—I've seen her in action, Chiron. She's not someone you want to have on the enemies side. Battle of the Nile, killed three hundred soldiers, grown men," Dionysus said. "She killed her own brother solely because they ended up on opposite sides of the battle! She is no child like you or any of the other campers, Pablo."
Mr. D might as well have thrown a brick out of the window and smashed Menodora's head in. Menodora knew that she got pretty violent when she fought monsters, but that was only to protect the di Angelos. She could never imagine killing Nico, nor Bianca. How on earth could she then kill her own brother, whom she shared blood with?
"Then why did you allow her into camp if you knew?" Percy asked.
"Little did I know it was really her?" Mr. D yelled out. "She's supposed to be dead! I didn't recognize her at first, so, excuse me for not recognising someone from two thousand years ago!"
A silence prevailed the room, only Mr. D's heavy breathing audible.
"How about this," Mr. D huffed, filling the uncomfortable silence his words had ordered. "If she betrays this camp or the gods, I will make sure both of you are seen as her accomplices. You're fathers won't go easy on you. Trust me," Mr. D said before leaving.
"Thalia," Chiron said softly. "Do you think you could keep an eye on her? Just to be sure."
"Chiron," Percy said, disappointed. "You don't actually believe—"
"Percy, it's for the better," Chiron said. "We can't be sure. I stand with you, but perhaps Dionysus is right."
"You're not actually going to do this, are you, Thalia?" Percy pleaded.
"What I'm not going to do, is burn in the Fields of Punishment for her, Percy," Thalia said. "You can count on me, Chiron."
"Very well. No one can know of this conversation," Chiron said. "Now, go and rest, children."
Menodora tightly covered her mouth with her hands as the three left the Big House. The lights were torn off, the only source of light being nothing. She didn't mind, at least that way no one had to witness her petty crying.
She stayed on the porch for a while, staring at the leaves dancing with the wind, hoping to distract her from her racing thoughts.
The most comforting thought she had to focus on was Percy, and how he seemed to be the only one who was actually defending her case. And it wasn't like she was Percy's best friend.
Really, she didn't expect anyone to defend her, they barely knew her, but she didn't expect them to believe Dionysus' words. They couldn't be true, they just couldn't. Menodora wanted them to be false, but the fact she couldn't even rely on her own memories made her even more doubtful. Did she really kill Amun?
No. Menodora wasn't a monster, she was a normal kid just like Percy and the other campers.
Menodora couldn't imagine betraying this camp. Well, maybe the camp itself, but definitely not Aspen, or Percy, or any of the friends she had made in the past twenty-four hours. Friends weren't a regular thing for her, so she'd make sure to hold on to the one's she had now.
˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗
When Menodora walked into the Hermes cabin, tears dried and nose still running, she could feel the friendly vibe that prevailed while she was gone dying down; the chattering stopped, the occasional screams stopped, the smiles dropped. Most of her cabin mates gave her looks of both jealousy and pity. Some didn't even dare look at her.
"Where were you?" Aspen asked as she walked up to Menodora, unbothered by the disapproving looks. "You just disappeared."
"I was nowhere," she lied, making way to her bed. She slumped onto the mattress, and crawled as far back as she possibly could (which wasn't even that far), somehow hoping the wall would swallow her. At least Nico seemed to be at peace; he was sound asleep, softly snoring and drooling onto an orange t-shirt he was wearing.
"Don't worry about them," Aspen said, referring to the campers as she sat down next to Menodora. "They'll forget about it in a week or two."
"Yeah, most of them are just jealous," Ethan Nakamura said, pulling a chair toward them, throwing an orange shirt identical to Nico's at Menodora. "Most of the unclaimed, who've been here for years, can only dream to be claimed by whatever god wants them. But you turn up and are already being claimed by two parents? Who are fighting over you? It just makes some of us feel like worthless waste of demigodness."
"Well, they can all have two godly parents, for what I care," Menodora huffed, studying the shirt; was this camp worshipping a horse? Menodora couldn't tell, the words remained unreadable.
"You're not a worthless waste of demigodness, Nakamura," Aspen said. "Well, most of the time you aren't."
"That's so incredibly kind of you, Aspen," Ethan smiled sarcastically before turning back to Menodora. "As long as you don't act too stuck-up, nobody will bother you," Ethan reassured her.
"Great," Menodora sighed, throwing the shirt aside. Aspen wrapped her arm around Menodora's arms and layed her head on her shoulders.
"But, at least you'll be very powerful! You're like another variant of the forbidden children! We can go on quests together!" Aspen said. "We'll be like the new Percy, Annabeth and Grover! Ethan, you're the satyr, by the way."
Menodora just hoped that didn't mean him having hair-eating tendencies (yes, she was still very much annoyed with Grover and his constant attempts to eat her hair).
"Very funny," Ethan said. "And, what? Are you supposed to be the brains?"
"I could very much be the brains, mind you—"
"Quests?" Menodora interrupted them, still processing what Aspen had said before insulting Ethan. "What are those?"
"Adventures, you could say," Ethan answered her. "You go to the Oracle, get a prophecy, go fix what's wrong, and you come back a hero!"
"Have you guys gone on quests?" Menodora asked.
"Quests are pretty rare if you aren't Percy Jackson or any of his close friends," Ethan said.
"Or enemies," Aspen added. "Remember last year when he went on a quest with Clarisse La Rue?"
"I never expected both of them to come back alive," Ethan laughed, thinking back about the quest.
Menodora wanted to ask who this Clarisse was, but she felt like she had already gotten to her limit of asking dumb questions.
"If you got a quest, you'd take us, right?" Aspen asked.
"I'm not Percy Jackson, or any of his close friends, so I doubt I'll get a quest," Menodora lied, remembering Chiron mentioning the unfinished prophecy. "But, if I get my own, who else would I take?"
"That's the spirit!" Ethan laughed, punching Menodora's shoulder. "It just sounds so right. Menodora, Ethan and Aspen, heroes of Camp Half-Blood!" Ethan whispered loud enough for only them to hear
"To us!" Aspen whispered too, a bit louder than intended. She threw her fist up, followed by Ethan and Menodora.
˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗
When Menodora woke up again, she wasn't in the Hermes cabin any longer. The room was pretty spacious, and didn't contain more beds than it could hold. The athmosphere was much warmer and drier, which oddly comforted Menodora, as if she was back home after a long vacation.
The room she stood in was dim, solely illuminated by the faint moonlight. Amidst the scarce amount of furniture and the copious pages of papyrus scattered all over the floor, a man anxiously paced through the room. He muttered quick words under his breath as he massaged his scalp, hoping that would compensate for the brisk thinking.
The man fell through his knees, whatever he was worrying about becoming too much for his body to handle. Like a child not being allowed to get something they wanted from their parent, the man started to sob. His fingers got lost in his unruly curls, pulling at his hair. "Please," he begged someone who wasn't there.
A little boy entered the room, hesitantly walking up to the man. "Papa?"
"Go back to bed, Amun," the man spoke in Menodora's mother tongue.
Amun. He was fairly young looking; round cheeks, eyes as large as his little fist and hair identical to his father's. Menodora yelled out his name. He didn't give the slightest sign that he had heard her. Then Menodora realised the barrier between the present and the past hindered her from reaching her family. She wanted to ask him if she killed him, if he was really dead. She needed something, even the faintest hint, to put her mind to rest.
Disobeying his father, Amun got on his knees and hugged his father as tightly as his short arms. could. The father didn't resist, allowing his son to comfort him.
Suddenly, a burst of warmth and light entered the room, dying down as quickly as it had appeared. A man walked up to the father and son, smiling at them. The intruder had a warm smile, radiating onto the room like the sun's rays radiated the earth.
Amun's father toilfully got to his feet- as Amun hid behind him. The disbelief was too great, stuffing his words in his throat.
"Papa, who is this?" Amun asked, poking his head from behind his father's legs.
"Go to your room, Amun," his father said, his voice sterner than before.
"Run along now, son," the intruder said, nodding toward his bedroom. Amun looked back at his father before running back to his room.
Menodora was just about to follow her brother as her father said the intruder's name like a sweet prayer, like a plead for love. "Apollo."
"You came," he said, his voice tainted with disbelief.
"Of course I did, Ahmed," Apollo said gently, walking up to Ahmed, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "You needed me."
Ahmed bit his lip, looking up to Apollo with pleading eyes. "I made a mistake."
"Shh, agapi," Apollo said as he let Ahmed cry onto his shoulder. "Breathe."
"How can I?" Ahmed cried. "I cursed her, Apollo!"
"Who?" Apollo asked, which sounded weird coming from his mouth. Last time Menodora had talked to the god, he had claimed to know everything about everyone. Now, he looked like any other mortal confronted with lies and deceit.
"Menodora," Ahmed said, muttering her name like a curse.
Apollo frowned, demanding more information. "Her mother's name is Selene. After you left for Greece—" Ahmed choked, "she—she helped me with my studies, and with the pain. She helped out with Amun, and she was just so helpful. And then a year ago, she showed up with a child and never came back. I couldn't abandon the child, Apollo."
Apollo remained quiet for a while, letting it all sink in. "I'm sorry I left—" Apollo started, but was cut off by Ahmed as he walked away from him, toward the open window.
"You had to be there for your people," Ahmed said, his back turned to Apollo and Menodora. "It's understandable."
"It wasn't my choice to leave, agapi," Apollo said certainly.
"It doesn't matter who's choice it was. What's done is done," Ahmed said bitterly. "And either way, that's not why I called out to you."
"Then, why did you?"
Ahmed took a deep breath. "The monsters became too much. They almost killed Amun. I—I prayed to my father to give my demigodness to Menodora. I thought, since she's young, it would give me enough time to train them before she turned ten. Osiris warned me, he told me I would jeopardize her future, and I was too stubborn to understand."
Even though he held his composure, his voice betrayed what he felt like; a broken mess on the brink of falling apart forever, a mess no god, nor mortal could repair.
Apollo walked up to Ahmed, slithering his hand around his waist. He laid his head against Ahmed's neck. "I've been having dreams, Apollo. Horrible, horrible visions of her future. I've been trying to find a way to reverse it, but I can't."
"What do you want me to do, agapi? Fight Osiris so he can reverse it? I'd do that for you, you know that, right?"
"No. Don't fight him. Honestly, I didn't know why I called you."
"You needed someone to confide in, someone you could blame instead of yourself," Apollo said calmly
"I tried to blame you. Yet, I can't," Ahmed said. "Who would I, a mere mortal, be to stain you, god of the sun, with blame?"
"You can stain me with all the blame, worries and sins that trouble your soul, Ahmed. Who am I, a mere lover, to say no to you, god of my heart?"
This Apollo was nothing like the Apollo she had met at Westover Hall, chanting haiku's about himself. He wasn't full of himself, nor was he a proud jock.
In this room with Menodora's father, he was as vulnerable as a man, and as obedient to Ahmed as the Greek were to Olympus.
"Osiris advised I enlist them in Ra's Army," Ahmed said. "Is that really the only option if I want to keep them safe?"
"Safety for their life, yes. Although I doubt you'll keep them safe from insanity by sending them there. That place is horrid, Ahmed."
"But, they'll live?" Ahmed asked, his pain breaking through his words.
Apollo nodded. "Yes, as long as their identity as Greek demigods remains a secret. I can bring them to the palace for you, if you wish."
"Thank you, Apollo," Ahmed said, trying to rub the worry from his face. "Truly."
Apollo took his hands and removed them from his face, and whispered, "You're going to screw up that beautiful face of yours, agapi. Just so you know, Amun is watching us. Would you like for me to leave?"
"If it was up to me, you'd stay with me forever. But, for now, just stay the night, please."
This time, Amun was holding blankets. The moonshine illuminated the face wrapped in them, silver-yellowish eyes like the moon shining back in return.
"Is that her?" Apollo asked. Ahmed hummed. "Amun, come over here with your sister, won't you?"
Amun walked up to the two men, securely holding baby Menodora in his arms.
"Don't fear me, Amun. I'm a rather nice guy some would say," Apollo said, smiling at him. "Do you mind if I hold your sister?" Amun shook his head, giving Menodora over to Apollo.
"Just don't hold her too losely, or she'll find a way to fall off," Amun said.
"I'll make sure she doesn't go anywhere," Apollo promised. As the god looked down at her, his face aged at least ten years. Menodora wondered if he was seeing her future. Was it really as horrid as her father had said?
Apollo brushed his thumb right under her left eye, leaving a glowing mark. The eye of Horus. Apollo did the same procedure under Amun's right eye.
"You'll recognize them by this if you wish to see them again," Apollo said, stretching out his arm, allowing Menodora to swing around on them. "The right eye of Horus represents the sun, right? And the left eye represents the moon."
Unconsciously, Menodora brushed over the tattoo that she had always found burdensome, that she had despised ever since Westover Hall.
She had tried to cover it with make-up, paint, Tipp-ex, you name it. She had spent endless nights wiping away that mark with water in the bathrooms in Westover Hall, the mean comments girls made on it resonating through her head.
Now, it was the only memory that somehow reassured her that Amun loved her, and that she loved him. If she did.
a/n
this chapter is pretty long but wtvr
much love,
-mae <33