Reaching For The Stars

Chapter 14

2004
Artume

There were times she wondered what she didn't know about.

Having lived over eight thousand years, it felt like she knew nothing. Mortals understood the hardship of life—the effort required to make a living. Staring at the pile of drachma she had earned over the weeks, some of which she traded for human money, she grew curious about it. To her surprise, it was pieces of green paper with funny men on them. A few of the funny men resembled half-bloods, if she remembered correctly.

A sigh left her; she was tired of today's work. It was the last workday she would have until she decided otherwise. With enough money for whatever she could think of, and not much else coming to mind, Artume turned to the door to exit her room and head to the library.

It was a very small library, more like a small work study, probably created by Artemis for her, as everything was brand new. Artume entered the study, sat behind the desk, and opened the drawer to get her diary. Annabeth did it to reflect on her days, and it had proven helpful for her as well.

The moment she opened it, she found it empty.

Artume stared with a blank face at the empty drawer, confused and blinking, wondering if her mortal eyes were playing tricks on her. She opened and closed it twice, but it remained empty. Her grip tightened on the drawer handle, and the wood began to splinter as her anger boiled over, curses in Greek and Etruscan escaping her.

A book filled with her memories, a list of her wishes and thoughts, a drawing made from the heart—someone had stolen it from her cabin. There was no doubt in her mind. A thief had taken away all that she ever knew, thought about, and wished for. It made her furious, so furious she thought she could melt rock with pure anger alone.

She slammed the drawer back into place, the wood splintering and breaking from the sheer force. Someone took it, someone who didn't know what they had unleashed.

Annabeth Chase

Annabeth managed to plan everything so that Monday morning was calm, free of obligations. As she lay on her bed, her feet swaying in the air while humming a tune, she wrote about the weekend events in her diary—a calming morning ritual. The idiotic and suicidal duo of Thalia and Luke, along with Artume, who seemed to be enjoying whatever a mortal life could offer. Smiling, she recorded it all, with a particular person repeatedly entering her thoughts.

Her ritual was abruptly interrupted by a knock on her door. Closing her precious diary, she pressed a hidden button, revealing a secret storage just big enough to seal her book away. When all was secured, she called for the person to come in.

"Annabeth... Uhm," Sophie entered, a bit flustered and unsure how to approach her dilemma. "Something happened."

"What do you mean? Something went wrong in an experiment?" Annabeth asked, already putting on her shoes to come along.

"No, no, but... There is something that, ehm, caused Artume to... be mad."

"Oh boy..." Annabeth muttered softly, already having an inkling of what it was about. "What happened?"

"I don't know. She is stalking everywhere within the camp, hiding just outside of view. Her bow is fully out, like she is hunting something or someone. It's terrifying. Chiron can't calm her down. She says something has been stolen? Chiron asked for you."