Thank you to tiny_des19 for always leaving a comment on my chapters! I really appreciate it so this chapter goes out to you♡
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[ chapter seven: hermia ]
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Before Chiron could even get into the details on how Hermia was put to sleep. She got lost in her own thoughts. All she could think about was the last memories she had of Lysander. She could still picture his lifeless face, pale skin, and shallow breath. It hurt to think about it, but she knew she had to remember every detail. Mia had to know why she was put to sleep. Sadly she knew that reason had to do with what she did to Lysander.
"Hermia?" Jason's voice came out soft as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Do you want Chiron to continue?" Mia only nodded because she didn't trust her voice to say anything.
"Very well." Chiron said as he took a final sip from his lemonade. "The gods had always been interested in the type of witch you would become. You're the daughter from one of the big 3 and they knew you would become one of the most powerful Demigods to ever live. So they decided to watch over you."
Mia was more than surprised to hear this, but nevertheless she stayed quiet so she could let Chiron finish speaking. "As you grew up and learned more about your powers they started to worry. They knew it would only be a matter of time before you did something reckless. And you did."
The room got deadly quite and Hermia was dying to ask what he meant. Finally he said, "Do you remember what happened on the eve of May 22nd, 1862?" Mia nodded again. Of course she remembered. She had spent the entire day searching for a spell to save Lysander. Thanks to her mother's black magic book she was able to find the right spell to save him.
"Black magic was something you weren't supposed to mess with, Hermia. The gods were furious when they found out you were planning to use the spell on a mortal." Mia didn't understand why the Gods had gotten so mad. What was so bad about saving someone's life?
"But all I wanted was to save him." Mia said as she felt tears fill her eyes.
Chiron nodded in understanding while saying, "That's the problem, my dear. You messed with the natural order of things. You messed with life and death. Lysander Royal Black was supposed to die in 1862. It was written, it was his destiny. But because you couldn't let him go, you messed with fate."
Hermia at this moment was beyond mad with what he was saying. "Are you seriously telling me that the Gods took me away from the love of my life- my family just because I wanted to save Lysander's life?!"
Chiron nodded. "You didn't just save his life, Hermia you gave him some of your powers. And if you did it once what would stop you from doing it again? The Gods didn't know so they decided to put you in the Labyrinth. Your father didn't want that for you, but he didn't have a choice."
Hermia glared at the wall. Lost in her thoughts again she thought about the life she lost. The life she wanted with her brother and boyfriend. All that was now all gone. With tear filled eyes Mia looked back at Chiron and said, "I don't regret anything because I know he got to live a long, happy life..." A shaky breath escaped her lips while saying, "Everything I did was for him, I chose him over everything else. So, if the Gods want to punish me for loving someone, than so be it."
Chiron face looked somewhat surprised to hear her say that. He was about to speak again, to tell her how wrong she was, but Mia didn't let him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need some air." With that she rose up from her chair and started walking out.
Before she reached the door Jason ran up to her and asked, "Hermia, are you going to be okay?" He placed a soothing hand on her shoulder as Mia nodded weakly.
"I'll be fine, Jason." Her voice came out to soft for Jason to completely hear. But he knew what she had said. "It's your turn now, good luck." With a reassuring pat on the shoulder Mia stepped away from Jason and started walking down the steps of the Big House.
Once she knew Jason was back inside Mia made her way back to the lake. The whole way there she felt like she was going to explode. The energy inside her kept building up and it was dying to escape. Once she reached the lake Mia let all her emotions out. Tears started flowing rapidly and the energy-her powers-started to surface.
An ear-piercing scream escaped Mia's lips as the energy inside her exploded out. The wave of power was so strong the it caused a wave to form on the lake. A moment later it crashed onto the shore and shook everything in sight. Everyone in Camp Half-Blood felt the shake, most just thought it was in earthquake, or the curse, but both Chiron and Jason knew the truth of it.
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After Jason's talk with Chiron he found Hermia by the lake. He explained how Piper was taken to the Big House unconscious. They left her there so she could recover. He also said that Annabeth had taken him to cabin 15 to see if he could recover his memories. But of course it didn't work.
By night fall the campfire was in full swing. People were singing along to the music that played in the background. Hermia looked around the amphitheater and saw the steps that carve into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. There where fifty or sixty kids filling the rows, clustered into groups under various banners.
Hermia was sitting with Jason and Annabeth in the front row. Leo was sitting nearby, he was with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel gray banner. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandma got dressed for war. Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around.
Hermia honestly thought this was a very weird sight to see. Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. Chiron trotted up as he brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first-"
"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner.
"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."
"And kill people!" one of them shouted as Hermia rolled her eyes.
"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
He turned to Leo's group. Hermia saw Leo wink at someone and when she followed his gaze she noticed Piper standing off to the side. When Mia returned her gaze back to Leo she saw a girl next to him stand uncomfortably. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."
More grumbling came from the campers. Mia was honestly so done with all this. All that kept running though her head was Lysander and Demetrius. Hermia wanted to know what had happened to them, but she didn't know how.
Nevertheless she faced forward and listened quietly. "How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.
"Really hard," the girl said. When Nyssa sat down she got a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones-bang, bang, bang-and the campers fell silent.
"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."
"Percy?" someone asked. There it was again. The name of the boy Mia didn't know anything about. Oddly enough she felt a connection to him she couldn't explain. Which honestly just made Mia feel weird inside because she had never even meet the guy.
The fire dimmed even further, but Mia didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety. She already knew all about that thanks to her powers. Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.
"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like Helena thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, Helena, the Hunters of Artemis -everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."
"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out. Hermia gazed at the fire in question while everyone else turned. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under a rose-colored banner. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up. When Mia turned to look she saw Drew standing up.
Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often. "Drew?" Annabeth asked. "What do you mean?"
"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. A hundred year old which is back from the dead. Hera sends Helena a vision and you come back with four new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"
Mia didn't understand what this Great Prophecy was, but she had a feeling she would find out soon. "Well?" Drew called down. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?"
Mia watched in question as she gazed at a new red head. Her eyes looked scary in the firelight. Mia had a feeling this girl was going to clench up, but instead she stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp.
"Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun." Pandemonium broke out. In that moment Hemia covered her ears in annoyance. Jason looked over at Mia and place a reassuring arm around her shoulder. He didn't need to say anything, Mia knew he understood her desire to silence everyone's voice. After all she had been having a bad day.
When the talking finally subsided, Mia let go of her ears, but Jason didn't remove his arm. The red head took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redhead was more intimidating than all of them put together.
"For those of you who have not heard it," she said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:
"Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To power, storm or fire the world must fall-"
Jason shot to his feet. Hermia glanced up in question as she watched his eyes go from normal to wild. It was like he'd just been tasered or something. Mia placed her hand on his arm to get him to seat back down, but he didn't move.
When Mia turned her gazed to the red head she noticed how the girl had been caught off guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's-"
"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
An uneasy silence settled on the group. Hermia could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. Mia in some way could tell it was Latin, but she wasn't sure why Jason was suddenly chanting like that.
"You just ... finished the prophecy," the red head stammered. "-An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you-"
"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. He stumbled a little and Mia stood to catch him. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart." Hermia rolled her eyes as she rubbed her hand up and down Jason's back. Mia didn't want to be acting so nice, but if she wanted these people to trust her than she needed to play the part.
There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. But it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green. Jason sat down with Hermia's help. Mia noticed how embarrassed he looked but Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something reassuring. Something Mia could catch.
When Mia returned her gaze ro the red head she noticed how she still looked a little shaken. The red head glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt-a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage.
"Well," the red head said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The eight demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh ... were you calling roll?"
"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed. Mia didn't understand what was so funny, but she figured it was best not to ask.
"Anyway," the red head continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."
"Or worse," Chiron murmured. Mia watched him in question as the campfire immediately turned dark purple.
"What we do know," the red continued, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."
Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once. There was still so much Mia didn't understand, but again she didn't bother asking. Chiron pounded his hoof again, but the red head still had to wait before she could get back their attention.
She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk-how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.
Then the red head told them about Piper passing out in Hera's cabin. Finally she told them about Jason's vision in the living room of the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar to Piper's Mia believed they were connected.
"Jason," the red head said. "Um ... do you remember your last name?" He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head. Mia didn't understand why she asked that, but her question was soon answered.
"We'll just call you Jason, then," she said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."
She paused, as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him and Mia couldn't help but think that was a lot of pressure. Yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."
"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," she continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."
"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things ... stir."
Mia had a sick feeling his words held a deeper meaning. Some way Mia knew she was connected to all this. Evil magic could mean the black magic she had used on Lysander. The magic of messing up fate was within her and Gaea had already gotten control of it.
"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so-"
"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important-"
"He has been claimed," Chiron announce. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."
At first, Mia didn't seem to understand. Jason stepped forward nervously as Mia gazed at his blond hair glowing in the firelight. He glanced back at Mia, and she nodded encouragingly.
Jason reached into his pocket. His coin flashed in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance-a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.
The other demigods gasped. The red head-Rachel, Annabeth and Mia stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.
"Wasn't that ..." Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."
"Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin. Mia smiled as she caught Jason's gaze. Suddenly as if realizing what was happening Mia's smile dropped and she looked away.
"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.
"Electric," Jason murmured as he looked away from Hermia. "Back away."
Annabeth and Rachel got the message as they pulled Mia back with them. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Mia's arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.
When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Mia's ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.
Jason lowered his lance. "Um ... sorry."
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky." Mia couldn't help but let a small smile out. Now that he had found out who his father was, it was only a matter of time before she found hers.
Sorry if this chapter is a little boring. The first couple chapters always take to long so hopefully once I write the news about Hermia's father we can move the story along faster.
If yo guys find any mistakes just let me know because I haven't finished editing any mistakes.
Leave a comment and vote if you enjoyed!♡