✓ | The Crown of the Dead

My Quest (Sort Of) Begins

The second the camper finished speaking, almost everyone darted towards where he was standing, eager to find what he had been talking about.

Andi glued herself to my side. "Stay with me. Don't go near Luke."

I felt like a dog who had just bitten a stranger and was now forced to be leashed. Pretty degrading, if you ask me. Whatever. I guess I kind of deserved it.

Our whole group made its way through the underbrush that separated us from a massive clearing in the middle of the woods. Practically the entire camp was rushing around the clearing; talking to the camp leaders, each other, hurdling over a massive fallen tree...

It wasn't hard to figure out that that was what all the fuss was about. A ginormous tree had been completely uprooted from the ground, and was now lying on its side in the center of the clearing. It had to be the biggest tree I'd ever seen-- thirty five feet tall if I was judging correctly. Standing right off to the side of it was Essie and a woman I hadn't seen before. I raced over to them.

Essie was practically bawling her eyes out. Large tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her arms were wrapped around her torso to keep her from shaking. The woman standing next to her had a hand placed gently on her shoulder. Her skin was tinted green, and I realized she must've been the same type of creature that Aspen was.

"What happened here?" I asked.
   
Essie looked up at me, her eyes big and brown. "I... I don't know... but I- I..."
  
"Hushhh," the woman cooed. "It's alright, child. It wasn't your fault."
   
"But it was!" Essie argued. "I made the tree fall!"
   
I looked down at the tree. It was hard to believe someone Essie's size (and personality) was able to uproot an entire tree.
   
I turned back to her, surprised. "How?!"
   
Essie sniffled. "These older kids were being mean, and they made me angry. So we got into a fight, and then they pushed me up against the tree, and I felt this gust of wind, and I burnt my hands on something, and..." Essie slowly pulled her arms away from her chest, turning her palms upward. They were burnt.
   
"Essie!" I exclaimed, slowly taking her hands in mine. "What did you touch?"
   
She started crying even harder. "I don't know!"
   
"There, there," the woman said. I had almost forgotten she was standing next to us. She inspected Essie's palms closely. "Mmm, I see. Don't worry, I can get this fixed up rather quickly." She glanced up at me. "You must be this Bianca that my daughter's been rambling on about. I've heard you've received a quest."
   
I nodded respectfully. She must've been Aspen's mom.
   
"I'm Juniper. I've watched over the forest here for years. And I can tell," she turned back to Essie. "...that you did not mean to do what you did. Come along child, let's get you cleaned up."
   
As Juniper steered Essie away from the mess that was the clearing, I was approached by two figures, one of which was a... horse?
   
That's when I realized that I was staring into the eyes of Chiron-- in his full form. The activities director was indeed a centaur, with the body of a man waist up, and a horse waist down. My breath caught in my throat.
   
Mr. D was standing next to him, a dismissive look on his face. Chiron didn't seem too happy. "Bianca Solace-di Angelo," he snapped. He looked down at me with narrowed eyes. "I heard about your stunt in the forest!"
   
My face grew red. How could I be so stupid! Of course I'd get in some sort of trouble for beating up a fellow camper!
   
"Oh... Chiron, I'm so so sorry, I didn't think--"
   
"--that we'd catch you? I'm sorry Bianca, but I cannot let you off the hook for something like this. You will be facing severe punishment for your actions!" He argued.
   
"But Luke started it!" I realized how much of a baby I sounded like only after I had said it.
   
"I do not care who started it. Luke is the one who is injured, and you are the one who beat him up."
   
"Chiron, it was all a big mistake, it'll never happen again!" I pleaded.
   
Chiron scoffed. "That's exactly what your father said when he kicked Percy Jackson down the climbing wall! And when he gave him the wrong medications after a stab to the abdomen! And when he moved his mattress to the middle of the canoe lake while he was sleeping!"
   
I suppressed an amused snort.
   
"Will never liked that boy, I could never tell why..." Chiron mused. "But this isn't about that! This is about the mistake you've made. Mr. D and I have been speaking, and we've come to the conclusion that--"
   
"What you did was excellent!" Mr. D interjected, causing Chiron to go silent. "And this old horse and I have decided that you are more than capable of beginning your quest tomorrow morning!"
   
Chiron's jaw fell open. "N-no! We did not agree on that! We did agree that Bianca would have three weeks of--"
   
"Put a cork in it," Mr. D said lightly, taking a swig of his coke. "You have to agree that Bianca portrayed spectacular skills during her battle with the Johnson boy. Strong and courageous just like her papa." He reached out to give me a pat on the head. "I, for one, am very impressed."
   
"Well I am not!"
   
Mr. D rolled his eyes. "May I remind you who's the head of camp here? I'm in charge, and I say that Bianca will begin her quest tomorrow!"
   
Although I didn't really agree with Chiron (for obvious reasons) I definitely did not want to start my quest tomorrow. I was hardly prepared, and even though I did beat up Luke, that didn't mean I knew exactly how to defend myself against monsters, or whatever was lurking out there.
   
"Mr. D," I tried. "Maybe we can discuss this--"
   
"Over green tea and biscuits? Yes, I agree, that would indeed be lovely. Come along." Mr. D planted his hands on my shoulders and pushed me away from where Chiron was standing. I could practically see smoke coming out of his ears.