~Chapter 16~
Jedrick
Just let him calm down for a while and avoid pressuring him. Once he’ll get back to camp, he’ll cool off, Xandra’s words echoed in his mind. He just couldn’t help feeling worried for his best friend. Well, yeah, he’s sometimes hostile with other people, but this is different. And it had something to do with his family and Clarence.
He knew Ash ever since they were thirteen years old. He was like a brother to him and they cared for each other. The thing that’s making him confused is whether to believe his best friend whom he had known for three years, or his strange and mysterious cousin.
Clarence snapped her fingers in front of his face, “Hey, Jedrick, are even listening?” That snapped him away from his thoughts.
“W-what were you saying?” Jed asked.
His cousin rolled her eyes, “I was wondering if Ash’s alright. I haven’t seen him all day.” It was true. Ash wasn’t in his classes today and Jed found out this morning he decided to stay in his room until night. Maybe he was getting sleep, Jed thought.
He shrugged, “He’s locked up in his room all day.”
“Why?”
Jed wondered why he was telling Clarence all this even though his best friend doesn’t want him to. Ash made that clear. He has to stay away from her. But Jed already grew fond of Clarence. He treated him now as a little sister.
“Honestly, I have no idea what he’s doing. He’s still mad because of yesterday.”
She frowned, stabbing her fork into her pasta, “I’m really sorry I got him pissed like that.”
“Don’t worry about him, Clarence. He’s fine. How about you and I go visit him in his dorm and you can go…um…apologize?” he asked her.
Clarence raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? Doesn’t he want to strangle me with his own bare hands?”
He chuckled, “You guys need to sort things out.”
Jedrick finished the rest of his dinner and so did Clarence. They picked up their stuff and headed for the elevator. Jed pressed the right button and the elevator moved up. He knew this wouldn’t backfire…or end up badly. He’ll get Clarence and Ash to make up and – hopefully – be friends.
“Jed, I’m not really sure…” Clarence told him.
“It’s fine, cus.” He assured her. They stopped in front of Ash’s door. Jed knocked softly on it.
“Ash. Ash, come out now.” Jed pleaded. They heard a grunt from the inside and the door opened, revealing Ash, his face looked drowsy and his hair was disheveled.
Ash’s gaze immediately went to Clarence and he glared, “Why did you bring her here?!”
Swiftly, Jed pushed his cousin into the room and shut the door behind him, trapping his best friend and cousin inside. “You have to talk!” Jed yelled through the door.
“Jed, I swear, I will kill you!” Ash shouted back. Jed locked the door from the outside (it can be locked in both ways) and leaned his back against it, “You two need to talk now!”
“No we don’t!” This time, it was Clarence’s voice.
“Guys, please.” Jed begged, “I’ll be back in a few minutes and make sure you already sorted yourselves out! And don’t pretend because I’ll know! Et ecce post ya guys!” After that, he got no response. For a second, he thought those two already killed each other, but he brushed the thought away and headed for a classroom.
Jed knocked on the door saying, “Xandra I-“ But when the door opened, it showed Mrs. Mackie.
“What do you need, Mr. Mayden?” she asked in her usual stern voice.
Jed gulped, “I-I need to talk to Xandra.”
The teacher took a deep breath and said, “This is the Latin room, Jedrick and not the music or art room.” Jed looked around and sure enough, it was the Latin room.
He ran a hand through his light brown hair, “Sorry, I guess I wasn’t myself. There’s a lot been going on lately.”
“Ísos tha prépei na meínete edó. Xandra eínai akóma apascholi ménos epeidí káti írthe sto stratópedo.” Mrs. Mackie said.
He groaned, “Come on, Mrs. Mackie. You know I can’t understand much less speak Greek.”
Mrs. Mackie translated it, “Maybe you should stay here. Xandra's still busy because something came up at camp.”
“Oh.”
She switched to Latin, the language Jed could understand, “Quid vis loqui?”
“Sed Clarentiae et Marcus. Duis odio se rapitur amens.” Jed replied, telling her the problem.
“And what did you do about it?” Mrs. Mackie wondered out loud.
Jed gave her a sheepish smile, “Uhh, I kinds locked them together in Ash’s room.”
Mrs. Mackie chuckled, “Numquid faciet sibi homo Ashton quidem condom?”
Jed laughed along with her, “Nope.”
“Et nunc patruum te esse arbitror.”
When they were laughing, Jed was puzzled why one of the meanest teachers in Eastern was suddenly cracking up with him. After the laughter died down, he spoke up, “Mrs. Mackie, do you know what’s up with Clarence?”
He saw hesitation in her eyes, “It’s not my story to tell, Jedrick. But I doubt you’ll be able to get it out of her.”
“Okay, you and Xandra know about this? About her?” Jed asked.
Mrs. Mackie sighed, “Please, Jedrick, don’t let her get into any more stress and pressure than she is in now.”
Now Jed was more curious.
What was up with Clarence?
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
Clarence
After her own cousin pushed her into this room with her enemy, she was more than pissed. Her plan of stealing Ash’s sword backfired and became an epic fail and she was just lucky Ash was as pissed as her. She tried banging on the door several times but it was useless. Well, at least it wasn’t a tight room…
She went back sitting on the bed beside Ash.
“I can’t believe he locked us here. Does he really think he can get us to make up?” Ash complained.
Clarence rolled her eyes, “Just shut up, idiot. Maybe if you just quiet down, we could think of something to get out of here.”
“Well, if you wouldn’t have sneaked into my room and lied about it in the first place, then we wouldn’t be here!” Ash said as his voice slightly rose.
“Well, if you weren’t so freaking pissed every single day, then this whole thing wouldn’t start at all!”
“Are you blaming me?” Ash narrowed his eyes. “Because you’re really the one to blame.”
“What in the name of Hades is your problem?!”
“You want to know what’s my problem?! You!” Ash yelled, “You know, your mysteriousness is not attractive.”
“Who said I was trying to be attractive? Who said I was flirting with you?”
“Then why are you acting like that?”
Clarence decided to just shut up. Maybe she was the one to blame after all. She was the one who tried to steal Ash’s sword. If she hadn’t made that moronic move, then her secrets wouldn’t have been at risk.
“Lypámai .” she apologized after a few seconds of silence.
“Kai giatí eímaste milóntas sta elliniká tóra?” Ash asked her.
But Clarence ignored his previous comment and carried on, “I admit it. I can speak and understand Greek, I can see through the Mist and I know about you and my cousin. That’s it. So don’t start assuming things, okay?”
Ash snorted, “Den eíste akóma syncho retheí kai eímai akóma thymo méni mazí sou.”
“Tóte ti prépei na káno , e?” she questioned.
“Stamatí ste na energeí óla ta mystí ria kai paráxena . Egó den tha sas anankásei na mou peis ó, ti áfise éxo , allá na stamatísei na symperiféretai étsi.” Ash replied.
Clarence bit her lip and agreed, “Tha prospathíso mou.”
Another bunch of silence…
“Eísai diaforetikí apó tis álles kopéles pou écho gnorísei .” Ash said.
Clarence laughed, “Ennoeís , diaforetikí apó ta korítsia tis Afrodítis?”
Ash smiled. Just a little smile. “Nai . Kai diaforetikó apó Merilda.”
“I’m nothing like her, Ash. I promised myself that.”
“What do you mean?”
Clarence gave him a smirk, “Why should I tell you?”
He rubbed his temples, “You’re so impossible.” This caused Clarence to laugh.
Suddenly, the door was unlocked and Jed barged in, a hopeful expression on his face. Clarence and Ash glared daggers at him whilst he held his hands up in defense.
“I figured you two made up?” He asked.
His cousin rolled her eyes, “Yes, now I have to go. It’s late already and I need to get to sleep!” She went out the door, smirking as she heard Ash say, “Yes, and Jed we still have some things to do.”
Clarence made her way to her room. She stripped out of her clothes and put a comfy silver-gray t-shirt that reached the above her mid-thigh and leggings. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, to avoid her hair getting tangled when she battled; she put on sneakers and took out her weapon, leaving the medical supplies.
She was watching Jed and Ash tonight and keeps them from getting in trouble. Ever since she arrived, the monsters were getting more…terrible. Those two were idiots for going out of the shield. The monsters were after her, too, so she had to take the responsibility of fighting them. She just hoped the two guys won’t get themselves killed.
She stared as the two figures out the window and waited for them to disappear into the thick woods. Once they did, she summoned yet again and let herself fly out of the window. She flew over the bare tree-less spot and lowered herself into the trees around it. Jed and Ash were there, preparing to fight.
“Tell me what the heck happened Ash,” Jed said to him, polishing his sword, “did the making up turn to making out, then making babies?”
Hearing this, Clarence almost choked on her own saliva. She and Ash doing the deed? Nope. No way. She wanted to strangle her stupid cousin, but Ash already smacked him upside the head for her.
“What the heck?! Shut your dirty mouth, Jedrick!” Ash said to him. Though, Jed just chuckled.
“Seriously now, Ash, what happened?” Jed asked.
Ash took a deep breath and told him, “At first we were arguing and when I asked her why she was acting so mysterious and strange, she just shut up with a guilty look on her face. After that, she said sorry and we started speaking in Greek.”
“‘So we’re speaking in Greek now?’ I asked,” He continued, “She admitted she can see through the mist, speak in Greek and know about us being demigods. We spoke more then silence…and I told her she’s not like the other girls I’ve met. ‘Not like those Aphrodite girls?’ she asked. I said yes and she’s also unlike Merilda,. After that, she put on her mystery act again and that’s when you came in.”
Jedrick frowned, “I shouldn’t have burst in! That was a pretty nice conversation!”
His friend rolled his eyes, “Yeah, but I’m still mad at her. It doesn’t we talked that I would forgive her already.”
Giant footsteps suddenly sounded in the forest. Many footsteps, actually. Clarence couldn’t help but feel nervous about this. Those giants might be something they couldn’t handle. The trees parted and revealed three….giants. They were big, but not that big like Gaea’s giants. They were the Cyclops size. And Clarence knew exactly what they were.
Laiystrigonian giants.
Clarence read they could create fire. Large balls of fire. Her eyes widened when she saw them and remembered them. There were three of them. Oh gods damn it, Clarence muttered under her breath. She saw even Ash and Jed had their mouths agape and their bodies were frozen.
The giant in the center smirked to his companions, “So which one should we take out first? The brunette or the black?” The three laughed with their gruff voices.
The two sides – the monsters and the demigods – began to attack at the same time. Clarence found this very unfair. Two against three? She needed to go out there and fight. But there’ll be risks after.
Orbs of fire sprouted from each giant’s hand and they threw it at the two. The guys easily dodged it and ran towards them, their swords ready. Ash went after the leader and stabbed the back of his knee – one weak spot. The giant stumbled a little and aimed fire on him. Ash began to ran, dodging every fireball. He suddenly tripped and fire caught his upper arm, making him yell in pain. Clarence gulped.
I have to help! She shouted in her mind.
Are you stupid? You can’t go out there! A little voice said in her mind.
But that would be selfish, she thought. She couldn’t just watch it while the other two demigods suffered fighting. Despite her thoughts, she stood still there, not moving a muscle.
Ash was cradling his burnt arm, trying to head to the woods. Luckily, none of the giants tried to chase after him. Clarence could still see his figure, peeking out of the bushes, but he was far away from her. Jed, meanwhile, was struggling to not get burnt. He was fast and easily ran away from the fireballs but Clarence can sense him getting tired. The giants were all chasing after him.
He’s creating a distraction, Clarence thought. This was her chance! She couldn’t expect to fight those giants with his arm scorched. She had to fight. Without thinking, her feet were running towards out of her hiding spot and into the fight. She caught a quick glimpse of Ash, who was saw her and his eyes were wide.
The giants – nor Jed – still didn’t see her. She took the chance to pull out the moon and star bracelet from her pocket and it transformed into her long bow, sparkling in the moonlight and her quiver, holding her arrows. She took out one arrow and aimed it properly. The arrow was fired and shot one giant on the back of his shoulder, wounding him.
“Hey!” the Laistrygonian called out. The giant started chasing after her. Clarence ran whilst shooting multiple arrows at him, plus dodging the fireballs. A lot of sharp arrows already hit him and he fell on his knees, crumbling into dust.
One down, two to go, Clarence wiped sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. She then realized that another giant – the stupid one, obviously – accidentally hit his head on one of the trees and fell down. Jed held him down and slashed him with his sword until he was nothing but monster dust.
“Okay, one to go,” Clarence whispered to herself. The one left, which was the leader, was a little dazed from chasing Jed.
“Hey, Jedrick!” she shouted and called Jed’s attention. Her cousin’s gaze turned to her. She pointed at the giant and he nodded in understanding. They both ran towards him as he regained his balance. Right now, he was glaring at the two. Jed was in one side of him while Clarence was on the other. The monster moved his head from left to right, deciding who to take out first.
He chose clearly chose Clarence and chucked a fireball at her. She jumped out of the way, flopping on the grass. She was already sweaty from running and her clothes were a bit singed. Jed had managed to give the monster a small cut on his back, but the leader was strong.
She thought of using her powers, but decided against it. She had already showed herself and put her secrets at risk. Plus, it will weaken her so much and she might pass out by controlling the stars. She took a deep breath and shot an arrow. It caught the giant’s attention and glared at her.
She got up on her feet and started running. Merilda’s tortures were sooo much better than this. She would give up anything to be Clover Beckert again. She sensed the monster lunging at her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come, but none came. She opened her eyes and saw the giant had a sword stuck to his chest. Though, it wasn’t Jed’s sword. It was a bronze one. The leader exploded into dust immediately.
Clarence panted heavily as she headed over to Ash, who was smirking triumphantly.
“Save that smirk for later, hero,” she said as she knelt beside him and examined the burn. Thank gods it wasn’t that bad at all.
Ash glared at her, “You know-“
But Clarence cut him off, “I know, I know, I have to tell you everything and explain why I jumped in from spying on you and saved your sorry butts. And I am very grateful about you saving me!” she said the thanks in a sarcastic manner.
She leaned forward and reached for the burn. “Ow!” Ash hissed, “Don’t touch it!”
Clarence sighed and took the pack they brought. She got out the ambrosia and nectar then handed it to Ash, who dived for them hungrily. Jed was already walking towards them.
“How’s the burn?” Jed asked then turned to Clarence, “Can you cure him?”
“I don’t know, I’m not the freaking son of Apollo, am I?!” She snapped at him. Jed cringed a little and began to treat Ash’s arm. Clarence leaned her back and at down on the tree, burying her head on her head, whispering, “What have I done? I can’t believe I did that!”
“Clarence,” Ash called sternly. Her head snapped at his direction to find the two guys staring at her.
“What?” Clarence asked.
“What was that, Clarence? You killed a Laistrygonian giant! You shot arrows. What…what the hell was that?! Why didn’t you tell us you were a demigod?” Jed was scowling at her.
“Who said I was a demigod?” was her response.
“So you’re a mortal?”
“And who said anything about me being a mortal?” she asked.
Ash slammed his fist on the grass and glared his best at her, “Drop the damn act now, Clarence! Tell us the truth!”
Clarence gulped inaudibly as the two boys just looked at her. She couldn’t just spill her secret to them! Tears were already threatening to fall on her cheeks. She wanted to curl up and cry herself to sleep just like before.
“Please,” she croaked, “Just please, don’t force it out of me! Trust me; there are some things that need to stay hidden. Please, it’ll be better if you didn’t know. I was so stupid to attempt to steal your swords and being like…acting like this. But I couldn’t leave you to die out there! I had to save you!” without listening to their responses, she stood up and walked away.
All she needs is a good night sleep to make her feel better.
And, hell, she was so wrong.
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
Intense, huh? Haha, whaddya think’s next? Do you think they’ll finally know Clarence’s secret, hmmm?
-Vireen