The Dark Side of Beauty

Chapter 3//Explain

{{Vespera POV}}

"I work for the Universe Travelers Agency. We travel through universes, like yours, that have been majorly fucked up. We mostly visit alternate timelines, so when somebody gets assigned to a main timeline, they have to leave ASAP." I say, wringing out a pair of pants.

"We help get timelines back to where they are able to function. Basically, we fix what you fucked up. For somebody to be assigned a main timeline, you must have fucked up really badly." I put down the pair of pants in my hand, grabbed a shirt, and started wringing it out.

"This is probably my thousandth mission? I don't really know, I lost track about 200 years ago." I say, and look up, to see both the boy and girl staring at me.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"What in the Underworld is this?" the girl says, turning to her friend.

"You've got to be kidding." the guy says at the same time.

I shake my head, my eyebrows furrowed.

"What are we going to do with her, Luke?" the girl asks, her voice quiet.

"I don't know. Should we take her to Chiron?" Luke asks, and the girl shakes her head.

"She might be lying. She might be a spy."

I huff, and lay down on the ground, rolling my eyes. "I'm not a spy, and I can hear you." I say, and the two jump.

"I'm serious. Your universe is in danger, and you're going to die if you don't let me help." I say, and the girl shakes her head.

"Annabeth, what if she's right?" Luke says, turning back to the girl.

"She's obviously lying. We can't take her to-" the girl stops, and I look up to see a Centaur. I blink, then rub my eyes.

"Chiron." Annabeth says, getting up.

"Annabeth. What is the meaning of this?" I look back and forth between Annabeth and Chiron, not moving.

"She says that she's part of the- what was it again?" Luke says, turning to Annabeth.

"The Universe Travelers Agency." I say, standing up, running my hands through my hair. I wonder for a second what color I should dye it this time, but then shove that thought away.

"Ah, that. I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow." Chiron says, and I shrug.

"'Time is of the essence.' Or at least that's what my Handler says." I say, playing with my ring on my finger. "And I assume that it is the weekend, right?" I ask, and Chiron shakes his head.

"Summer break. School starts back up in about a week." I nod, looking around.

"But Chiron. She could be lying." Annabeth says, and I struggle to not roll my eyes.

"Why would I lie about this? Like, honestly. I can't lie to save my life!" I say.

"Annabeth!" Chiron says, then turns back to me. "What is your name again?" Chiron asks, and I dig my thumbnail into my palm.

"I didn't say it, but I know you'll want me to say it so that I can't be all like 'Oh yeah, that's my name.' if you say it first." I say, knowing I was probably rambling. "But my name is Vespera. Vespera Beckett."

"Nice to meet you, Vespera. As you probably already know, this is Camp Half-Blood, and these two are Annabeth and Luke." Chiron says, and I nod politely.

After a quick tour, Annabeth leads me to the 'Big House' as they called it, and takes me inside to a large room. "You wait here, and the cabin leaders will be inside soon." I nod, putting my hands behind my back.

I stand there for about 5 or 10 minutes before a large group of people come in, and sit down at the ping-pong table, not even looking at me. I see Chiron enter a few minutes later, ducking his head to not hit it on the doorframe.

About 10 minutes later, Chiron clears his throat, and all chatter dies quickly as heads turn towards him. "I'm sure that you all remember last week's meeting." Chiron says, and I see heads nod all around the table.

"Well, meet the person who will be helping us for the foreseeable future." Chiron says, and I see heads start spinning, trying to find me. I slowly stepped forward, out of the corner Annabeth had placed me in.

I see several heads snap towards my direction, and I stop after a few more tentative steps.

"This is Vespera, Universe Traveler, and she's going to help us." Chiron says, and I wave shyly. There were so many people, and these were only the counselors from each cabin? How was I supposed to remember so many names?

I take a deep breath, then smile. "Hi, I'm Vespera." I say, and I see a few people smile at me.

"How do we know she's not lying?" one of the girls asks, and I look at her. I stand up taller, clasping my hands behind my back.

"I don't lie. I can't lie to save my life. Besides, I'm your best bet at keeping your universe alive." I say sweetly, hearing the trace of venom in my voice.

I watch as the girl gets up, roughly shoving her chair away from the table before stalking towards me. I realize that she towers above me, but I just straighten my spine, looking up at her, feeling the cold handle of a dagger in my hand. I feel the bite of the leather strap on my wrist keeping the dagger sheath in place, and I can almost hear my blood pounding in my ears.

"Clarisse!" Chiron says, and the girl glares at me for a second longer before turning around and sitting in her chair. I watch as Clarisse crosses her arms over her chest, huffing.

"But what if Clarisse is right? I mean, I'd hate to agree with her, but it is a good point." another girl says, and I see several people nod around the table.

"That's what I said, Selena!" Clarisse says, and a few people flinch.

"Oh my god." Chiron says, and I see out of the corner of my eye Chiron drag his hand down his face.