Zag
We hate Dare. First, she spoils our fun. Then when she sends us home she drops us in our father's office so there's no way we escape without a little lecture.
"So, you thought you'd go to the real world and commit atrocities?" our father is not pleased.
"Only one person died," our mother says, reasonably.
We're in the sitting room, with us sprawled on a sofa while our parents are disappointed in us. We relocated in here because we wandered away while our father was lecturing us.
"You can't just murder people---at random, Zag I don't ask a lot of you," our father sighs.
"He understandably gets bored down here with only the spirits to spend time with," our mother says.
"Hyp handles it fine," our father says, dryly. To be clear Hyp is curled up underneath me, asleep, because this sofa is an approved nap spot. We took the opportunity to sit on him.
"You know Zag is different," our mother says.
"Yes, different as in has no actual qualms about gutting people and hanging them over the side of cliffs. You can't do these things in the mortal realm," our father says.
"Well, maybe if he was given structured time to visit the mortal realm and make friends---?"
"Friends he doesn't gut?" our father is not pleased. We can live with that.
"Maybe he could learn some empathy if he did make normal friends, maybe summer camp or attending high school this fall. He can act normal on---Zag please stop licking your sword while I'm telling your father you can be normal for short periods," our mother sighs, tiredly.
"There was blood on it," we say, finishing licking Heartbreaker's wavy blade. We're sober now. We can use the pronouns they want. Singular. "I like blood."
"See? He even used singular pronouns," our mother says.
"To say he likes licking human blood----Zag I've summoned lots of night creatures for you to play with, why don't you go battle them?" our father asks.
"W---I wanted to make friends," we say, looking down.
"See?"
"Friends you don't stab?"
"Not necessarily," we mutter.
"Zag, not helping me here," our mother sighs.
"We understand---why you are the way you are. But we ask you to remain down here, where you can be yourself unfettered. You were up there a few hours, and you killed someone," our father sighs.
"Who told?" probably that snitch Than.
"I know when a spirit leaves the realm, Zag. And it's pretty damn obvious when the wound is dealt by your blade," our father growls.
We hang our head.
"Look, we'll discuss it later all right? You've been out all night, get some rest," our mother comes and pets our hair.
"And stay in your room until I've decided your punishment," our father says.
"But--," tears fill my eyes. We don't want to be punished, it's not our fault. "We work hard! That isn't fair!"
"You. You, singular, need to learn to control yourself," our father says, before leaving.
"I'll talk with him," our mother strokes our hair, "Okay? Now get some rest."
"Will—," we "Zag be punished?"
"No," but we see her face falter when we use the name. "I don't know. I'll talk to him. Did you only kill one person?"
"Kind of?"
"Zag," she sighs.
"It's boring down here sometimes," we mumble.
"I know. Go to bed okay? We'll talk in a few hours. You've been out all night."
"Okay," we say, nodding a little, "You're not mad?"
"No, I'm not mad," she says, wiping tears from our face. "I'll make you breakfast when you wake up, all right?"
We nod, but we don't want breakfast. We want to be free.
YOU ARE READING
Olympus Drive Book 5: Situation Normal
Adventure"Things" are breaking out of the Underworld, Death is missing, a wild boar is on the loose, and there's a murder trial going on. It's situation normal in Winfell as heroes and demi-gods assemble for a boar hunt. Chronologically after all of the Olym...
