~Chapter 35~
These were one of the times I wanted run away, crawl into a deep hole and hide there. But of course, life is not easy. My feet stayed glued to the polished tiled floor as my whole body felt weak and helpless. Yeah, like when Merilda used to torture and bully me…except that was just the tip of the iceberg. These were the real consequences, the ones that will kill me badly and the type that I couldn’t run away from. A mix of emotions surged through me. There’s no way to escape; I was stuck dealing with the scene before my eyes. But could I handle this?
The woman closest to me burned holes on my head with her gaze. She had silky brown hair cascading down to her chest, flawless and fair skin, and bright blue eyes much like mine and she wore a full-length blue dress. Her dark apple red lips were twisted into a scowl and I can see flames reflected on her eyes. She wants to kill me. I was a bane of her existence and a shame to her title. In front of me, I saw a new woman who wasn’t my mother anymore.
I was totally speechless. I thought my pain and suffering’s over, but I had a feeling I was only halfway towards a harmless life. Maybe I won’t even survive right now. I couldn’t fight a goddess like that so how much more with the kind of gods? I’m still no hero. I have escaped the Underworld, yes, but I barely saved myself. I couldn’t even save Gerald back there and now my friends are thrown into the mess of my life.
I wished I had this special remote control to rewind the events of my days. I’d go back in time and make everything right, even though it means to not exist anymore at all. I wanted to correct the mistakes I’ve done. This whole situation I’m in right now could kill me at any second. One god, one goddess and three demigods stood before me, waiting for me to make a move. I’ve never felt so overpowered in my life.
Just sacrifice yourself. You’ll be a true hero.
That’s ridiculous. For me to die is what that goddess wants. I’ll be granting her wish if I’d sacrifice and ‘be a hero’.
Fight them, then.
I don’t stand a chance.
Well, that’s what you think. You really don’t know the truth. It won’t hurt to try.
Yes, it will hurt to try! I’d be dead for the first few seconds!
That’s not the usual you.
This is entirely different. They’re gods not monsters. They lived for ages, decades or centuries plus, they’re immortal and powerful.
I know arguing with my inner voice was pointless and I’d be gone and falling down into the Underworld again soon. I used to think I’d die a heroic death, but here I am, in Olympus, about to die a painful and harsh one. Looks like the Fates wouldn’t let me off the hook so easily.
*Six Hours Ago*
I missed them…really. It’s been a few days since my boyfriend, best friend and cousin left camp to continue their lives. Part of me wanted to go back to the hunters and continue to be with them but I was told to stay at camp. And I had no body to talk to except for Halliope and Gus. It annoyed me that I should stay in this lonely camp with nothing much to do. I felt imprisoned and caged here. Seriously, all I did was eat, sleep, sometimes walk around the camp and talked to the augur and oracle – not much to do. Well, at least I was bored and not in danger.
I softly knocked on the door then let myself in. “Hey,”
Halliope looked up from the book she’s reading and Gus stopped stabbing the teddy bear in his hands. Yep, those were typical things they’re doing. I walked over to Halliope’s bed and lied down there, putting my arms underneath my head.
“Why are you here?” The little girl asked curiously. It was an hour after lunchtime and normally I would’ve been in my room, taking a short nap.
“I can’t sleep,” I confessed, “I keep on getting these nightmares.” It started when the three of my friends left. “I’m already drinking more than three cups of coffee a day.”
Gus turned his attention to us and frowned, “And these nightmares never go away?”
“I thought they were harmless flashbacks that demigods get but it’s getting more and more serious and I’m freaking tired of drinking too much coffee and hiding these dark circles with concealer!” I said. I tend to be cranky and grumpy whenever I don’t get enough sleep.
“What were those dreams about?” the oracle asked, clearly intrigued by my condition right now.
I spaced out for a moment there, recalling every single detail of my latest nightmare. It was basically one of my days as Clover back in Washington. “It’s about my old life. I was reliving the tortures in my old school but I wasn’t feeling any pain. But as the memories went by, I always spot this strange woman gazing at me. She was always staring at me though, she didn’t talk or move. She was just…there.” I shuddered inwardly, remembering the woman’s snake-like eyes. It was both creepy and intimidating.
“Do you have an idea who this woman might be?” Halliope asked. I just gave her a long look. This eight year old girl is some kind of doctor.
“I’ve never seen her before in my life,” I answered. I glanced at the Roman, who was thinking as hard as Halliope about it.
“Are you sure?” I nodded.
“Well, maybe I would’ve recognized her more up close. I couldn’t see much of her face at all.”
“Do you think that the next time you fall asleep, you can control your dream and take a closer look at whoever it is?”
Would I risk that? For all I know, we demigods can’t control our dreams – or nightmares. I don’t think I can control anything in my sleep. “That isn’t possible,” I told the both of them, “There’s no way I could do that.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to try,” Halliope shrugged.
I stared up at the ceiling and moved myself in a more comfortable position. Halliope went off the bed and sat beside Gus as I closed my eyes and proceed to a new nightmare.
A tray…yes, I was holding a tray on my hands and was in the Eastern cafeteria. Only one thing was on the gray colored tray: coffee. This is what I felt in every single dream. I was in my body, but I cannot control my movements. I was just watching through this body’s eyes, watching every scene unfold. I knew exactly what day this is. I let Clover move through the cafeteria and towards her usual loner table as I felt a wave of déjà vu surge through me. I knew the woman won’t be appearing until the witch was torturing me.
It felt weird reliving my old life. Clover pivoted her head to look around for Merilda so that means I got a good look. I spotted Ash at the popular table, but no witch in sight. Involuntarily, my lips twitched upwards as I gazed at him and saw he was a bit young before. Huh, a lot has changed since that entire dilemma I experienced. Hold on…did I just smile in my dream? So I controlled my – I mean, Clover’s body! I frowned internally as Clover removed her gaze from Ash and continued to look around.
I can feel the old fear I used to have when Clover shifted her gaze back to the front and I saw her trembling hands while holding the tray. I was weak and helpless before. I believed that there was no hope for me and nobody would care for me. Every day, I feared the wrath of Merilda and the lack of my self-confidence. There was not one time I stood up and talked back to her, that is, until my cousin showed up. I felt a tiny seed of courage inside of me when those two defended me. They were heroes.
I never thought how much my life changed since I left Eastern and…well…became Clarence Meadow. I met Ami, I had a huge makeover and found out about myself, I annoyed my Jed and Ash, they found about my secret, I was lead to camp then following that were a whole lot of different adventures. Being a demigod was as bad as being tortured in a mortal school.
I didn’t notice that Clover turned her head again. That jerked me out of my thoughts. The next thing I knew, I…we…collided with someone and the cup of coffee poured all over that person. Ah, the memories of spilling coffee on Merilda. Clover turned her head towards the witch and I felt her eyes widen. “I-I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered. I could see the steam coming out of Merilda’s ears. Her face was scrunched up into a deathly glare as she clenched her fists on her sides. She suddenly grabbed Clover’s arm causing her to drop the tray on the floor. All eyes were on us as the queen witch of Eastern stomped out of the cafeteria with us in tow.
“You just ruin everything!” she screamed. Whoa, now I remember how ear piercing that was. Jeez, this woman’s crazy.
She pulled me to the back door of the school. The dull grey landscape welcomed my eyes. It was raining hard and the scene was just so damn lonely, matching Clover’s mood right now.
"Maybe this was why your parents left you! You're just so horrible!" Merilda yelled. I fought the urge to yell back at her face and say, “You’re a filthy witch! At least I don’t throw myself at other guys behind my boyfriend!”
And when she pushed me into the rain and mud, I swear I saw a hint of bright blue evilness in her eyes. I fell into the mud as she cackled and left me there. Then there were the numerous attempts of getting up and after that, Clover got up and made her way to a tree. She leaned there and fixed up herself. We suddenly spotted a figure by the back door. I realized now that Ash was so cute back then. He just stared and locked gazes with her.
But in my eyes, it was different. Why? Well, it was because there was another figure right beside Ash. All I could make out were those blue menacing eyes. It took every amount of strength I had to try and get out of Clover’s body. But I had no luck. I knew there was no way I could get into that woman. I was done struggling to take control on this dream and that’s when everything disappeared.
Seriously, I was floating in a world of black and darkness. It was like in my other past dreams – the one with my mother in it. And there in front of me, she stood…
…But she was glaring.
This could not be Artemis.
“What are you doing here…in my dream?” I asked.
She chuckled, “Do you even know who I am?”
It didn’t take me minutes to figure that out when I saw her entire face. “You’re Diana, the Roman counterpart of my mother.” I replied bluntly.
“Well, you’re as smart as they said,” she told me.
“Just tell me what you want.”
She smirked, “If you really want to know, visit Olympus tonight, eight o’clock sharp.”
What sick game was she playing?! I had Hades after me and now I have to worry about the alter version of my mom! “Why do I have to meet with you?”
“You’ll see,” she said and then I woke up.
I quickly sat up in bed, my breath in short pants. I was sweating all over as I ran a hand through my slightly damp hair. Both Halliope and Gus stared at me with confusion. “What happened?” the chorused.
“I-I…Diana…” I choked out. I started to worry less and then told them the whole story. They listened attentively, down to the last part.
“Are you going to Olympus?” Gus questioned.
I nodded, “I have to.”
“It’s a trap, Clarence. She’s going to hurt you.”
“I can handle it, I promise.”
The two kids exchanged worried looks. I quickly got off the bed and headed to my cabin to prepare for a battle. Of course there’ll be a fight involved. I’m not going down without one. I threw my hair up in a ponytail and then put on a comfy t-shirt and pants, fit for fighting. I checked the bracelet on my wrist, and it was always there.
I’m going to meet up with Diana.
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
My mind couldn’t quite understand the whole scene in front of me.
After I climbed up to the six hundredth floor and walked patiently to Olympus, I never expected this whole thing to be in a throne room. To put it shortly, Jupiter was standing in the middle of the room with Ash, Jed and Ami gathered around him, all of them in a fighting stance. Diana appeared shortly after I arrived and grinned devilishly at me.
These were one of the times I wanted run away, crawl into a deep hole and hide there. But of course, life is not easy. My feet stayed glued to the polished tiled floor as my whole body felt weak and helpless. Yeah, like when Merilda used to torture and bully me…except that was just the tip of the iceberg. These were the real consequences, the ones that will kill me badly and the type that I couldn’t run away from. A mix of emotions surged through me. There’s no way to escape; I was stuck dealing with the scene before my eyes. But could I handle this?
The woman closest to me burned holes on my head with her gaze. She had silky brown hair cascading down to her chest, flawless and fair skin, and bright blue eyes much like mine and she wore a full-length blue dress. Her dark apple red lips were twisted into a scowl and I can see flames reflected on her eyes. She wants to kill me. I was a bane of her existence and a shame to her title. In front of me, I saw a new woman who wasn’t my mother anymore.
I was totally speechless. I thought my pain and suffering’s over, but I had a feeling I was only halfway towards a harmless life. Maybe I won’t even survive right now. I couldn’t fight a goddess like that so how much more with the kind of gods? I’m still no hero. I have escaped the Underworld, yes, but I barely saved myself. I couldn’t even save Gerald back there and now my friends are thrown into the mess of my life.
I wished I had this special remote control to rewind the events of my days. I’d go back in time and make everything right, even though it means to not exist anymore at all. I wanted to correct the mistakes I’ve done. This whole situation I’m in right now could kill me at any second. One god, one goddess and three demigods stood before me, waiting for me to make a move. I’ve never felt so overpowered in my life.
Just sacrifice yourself. You’ll be a true hero.
That’s ridiculous. For me to die is what that goddess wants. I’ll be granting her wish if I’d sacrifice and ‘be a hero’.
Fight them, then.
I don’t stand a chance.
Well, that’s what you think. You really don’t know the truth. It won’t hurt to try.
Yes, it will hurt to try! I’d be dead for the first few seconds!
That’s not the usual you.
This is entirely different. They’re gods not monsters. They lived for ages, decades or centuries plus, they’re immortal and powerful.
I know arguing with my inner voice was pointless and I’d be gone and falling down into the Underworld again soon. I used to think I’d die a heroic death, but here I am, in Olympus, about to die a painful and harsh one. Looks like the Fates wouldn’t let me off the hook so easily.
“Why are you guys here?” I managed to say.
My best friend glanced at me for a millisecond, “Halliope and Gus called us and told us everything. We’re here to help.”
I understand those two kids looking out for me, but do they really have to blend my friends into my fights?
Jupiter turned to me, “So this is the daughter of Artemis I’ve been hearing about?”
I glared at Diana, “You…you told him?”
She just smirked and shrugged. That’s it. This stupid witch is getting on my nerves. She’s mad at Artemis for bearing a child so she wants to kill me. I lunged at her and pinned her against one of the walls, wrapping my fingers around her neck.
“I suggest you better put me down, Clarence. I’m a goddess. You can’t hurt me.” She said.
“That won’t stop me from trying,” I growled.
“Oh it’ll be fun to kill you like I did with your precious grandmother,”
I swallowed the forming lump in my throat and blinked back my tears. My grip on her neck loosened and unfortunately, that gave her a chance to attack me and tackle me to the floor. Now, I was pinned against the tiled surface with Diana straddling me. Oh, mom where the heck are you?!
“You’re the one who killed her?!” I yelled. From my peripheral vision, I saw my friends trying to fight Jupiter. They’re defending me…
“You weren’t supposed to exist, Clarence. You’re a curse child!”
I took all my energy and strength from my anger. She wants revenge…but I’m not going to let myself die in the hands of Diana. I pushed her and flipped us over so now, I’m the one straddling her. I changed my bracelet into my weapon. I know I couldn’t shoot her if we were this close. Archery needs long distances. I decided to take out an arrow from my quiver and held it in my hands. I managed to jab it into a part of her neck. Diana winced, groaning from the pain. My arrows are just as lethal as a knife.
I’ve barely hurt her so I tried and tried to stab her again. But she fought and held my wrists tightly. The goddess suddenly took out a dagger of her own and we fought hard trying to stab each other. I managed to grab the wrist that was holding her knife.
“Just give up,” I said, “You’re not going to win this.”
Her eyes burned with fury and anger, “Do you even know who you’re fighting with?!” She held back her hand, aiming for me but I gripped her wrist tightly, enough for the knife to be released and hit something behind me. A groan sounded from that direction.
I turned my head and I felt my heart stop beating.
Ash…
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
Shiz is about to get real, peeps. And... is it me or every chapter's beginning to have something in italics?
:3
-Vireen, Daughter of Riches