The Daughter of Poseidon

Chapter 12: She Dies, But She Doesn't Really Die

Kalen and I eventually found Chiron inside the Big House, talking to Mr. D. 

"Oh look, it's Kakao Nitogen and Arina Lee."

Oh my gods. It was Mr. D. Getting our names wrong again. How did he even do it?

"And is that Lorelle Stewart with you? She doesn't look too well."

I wanted to really give Mr. D a big SLAP on the face but luckily, as always, Chiron stopped me.

He said, "Come, children, let's talk in my office."

We headed to Chiron's office and he sat us down in some of the chairs.

"Is she.....?"

"Yes." Kalen and I both responded. 

"Then we will have to hold a funeral for Lidia."

"Yes. She was brave in her last moments." Kalen said. I nodded, trying to keep my tears in.

The funeral was held a couple of hours later, during free time. It all went by in a haze that I don't really remember. Lidia's body was put in a burial shroud and cremated.

After the ceremony, I ran over to the Poseidon cabin and took my stuff, locking myself into a small room with a mattress, bedsheets, a pillow and a blanket.

I made it like a mini home there, not coming out unless it was for food and water which was during times when campers weren't around like swimming or archery. I locked the door so no one could come inside. I skipped all of the things on my schedule and lay in the darkness for a while each day, and tears ran out of my eyes when I was going to sleep.

Lidia had died and it was my fault.

It stayed like that for about a month and 1/2. In that time, Kalen had come into the Poseidon cabin multiple times, trying to either get me out of the room or get into the room himself. I just sat against the door and kept silent. 

Annabeth also tried, without success. Even Percy went over to my room area once to try and get me to come out. I just sat in the same position, saying "go away!" quietly through my tears.

Then one day, I heard Annabeth and Percy talking outside the Poseidon cabin, near where my room was. I listened through the walls (which was quite hard because the walls were quite thick), since I had almost nothing else to do, overhearing their conversation.

"We can't let her do this for any longer. She's torturing herself!" That was Annabeth.

Percy agreed with her, and then they said some stuff about making a phone call, which I didn't understand.

3 days later, I heard a knock on the Poseidon cabin door. Percy was inside, so he opened the door and I heard about 3 other people come inside. One of them was Annabeth, but there was another voice I didn't recognise - a male sounding one. 

I heard clomping of shoes and I knew there were 4 people: Percy, Annabeth, a stranger and one more person. But that last person didn't speak at all for some reason. I guessed that he was maybe either a really quiet person, or maybe he was deaf.

The clomping sounds faded away, and I didn't know where they were. 

But then, a shimmering light appeared in front of me.

A translucent figure formed. It was Lidia!

"How are you here?" I gasped in shock. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, silly. My soul is in Elysium, but one of your friends has summoned my spirit using some kind of rune."

"Rune? Isn't that a Norse thing?"

"Yes, apparently Annabeth has a cousin called Magnus who in turn has a friend called Hearthstone, Hearth for short and Hearth is deaf, and also he can cast runes."

"Wow."

"Basically, he summoned a rune and somehow cast me out of Elysium for enough time to talk to you."

"Oh." I said.

"But the reason why I'm here. Astra, it's not your fault I died."

"Except it is." I was shaking now, seeing Lidia's unmoving body on the sand in my mind. "I could have saved you if I warned you. But I wasn't fast enough."

Lidia shook her head. "No, it's not. You couldn't have stopped it. That orb was like a speeding train!"

That got a small laugh out of me.

"Anyways, I don't have much time before I return to the Underworld. I just wanted to say, it's ok."

"It's not your fault." 

And with those words, she leaned in to hug me. But as I did, her form shimmered and then disappeared.